Lost in you
by ToniLOVESjolie
Summary: When a heart broken Natalie heads back to Lanview after being gone for a few years she meets a guy who will forever change her life, but will it be for the better or worse? This is another Jolie fic.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Natalie stared out the window of the train as it moved across the state, it was amazing how surreal this all seemed, she could remember when she had left this place not so long ago and yet here she was, returning to the one place she never dreamed she would be going back to.

To say this was a nightmare was an understatement, she had left her home town almost 3 years ago and almost to the day she had left she was going back, she felt like a failure, a loser, she hated this almost as much as she hated her life.

See this is what happens when you trust the wrong person, when you let your guard down, when you finally allow yourself to be open and love another, its exactlly what happened to her and the images from the day before were still very fresh in her head and she just knew that they would never ever leave..

It wasnt often that she left work early, hell she worked so much at the AC Police station that at times she had slept there, so maybe she should of seen this coming but then again she was niave and in love, a mistake she would never make again, that she was sure of...

She stared at all the passing buildings, to head back home a failure was one thing but to head back and to know that everyone and their mother knew your business was another, Lanview wasnt like AC, the entire population was only two thousand people, hell you could fit that many in a city block of AC but she tried not to think of it, she tried not to think of the stares and the whispering she would have to endure, it was humiliating but atleast one thing was good, she wasnt running back to her parents place, not that they hadnt tried to get her to go home, no, this time she was moving in with her best friend and in time she hoped to sort out her crazy pathetic life..

Days prior...

She had come home early from work and much to her surprise her boyfriend Cris's car was there and she smiled, how much more perfect could this get, now maybe they could actually get to spend some time together, she walked to the door of her apartment and stepped inside, it was quiet and dark as she looked around, she wondered if he was sleeping and so she patted softly towards the bedroom but a sound caught her attention and it wasnt just any sound, it was a womans voice and for a second she thought it was the tv playing, nothing would of prepared her for what she saw next cause as she opened the bedroom door she froze cause right there, in their bed, the one they had shared for the last three years was Cris but he wasnt alone and he wasnt dressed, no... He was naked and currently fucking some chick as she stood undetected for a moment.

It was as if her life at that very moment stopped to a halt, she couldnt believe what she was seeing, it didnt seem real and the bile rose thick and heavy in her throat, she must of made some sort of noise cause the next thing she knew Cris was turning his head during mid thrust and looking at her like a deer caught in the headlights and that was it, she bolted out of the room and out of the apartment, her chest heaving as she got outside and the cool air hit her face as she gasped for breath as though she were dying..

His voice made her turn as she saw Cris running out with nothing but a pair of boxers on.."Natalie...Natalie wait" he called out as she ran to her car, fumbling she dropped her keys to the ground with shaky hands, she needed to get out of there.."natalie" he said again as he neared her..

"Get away from me" she yelled frantically as he got over to her.."How could you" she could feel the breakdown coming on as she stood there, it was as if everything that she held dear in the world was falling away from her..

"natalie its not what it" he began with excuses as she looked at him in shock..

"are you kidding, you were fucking someone in our bed" she yelled angrily..

"natalie, baby just listen to me" he reached out for her and she jumped back as if he was infected with some rare virus, my god did she even know this man in front of her?

"dont you dare touch me" she spat out bitterly as tears pricked her eyes..Other neighbors were pulling up now and the humiliation she felt was too much to bear..

"natalie i didnt think" he began as she fumbled with her keys again, she couldnt even open her car door she was shaking so bad..

"You didnt think? What? That i would come home early, that i would catch you, how could you, this is our place, our home!" she yelled at him and then she saw it, like a horrible nightmare out of some redneck tv show, there came the woman from her bed, all blonde and leggy, standing with only a damn sheet on, her sheet, the one she had picked out just a few months ago, she felt sick, she honestly thought she would hurl..

"Cris" the girl called out.."Just let her go"

He looked at her and then at Natalie.."Unbelivable, you know what, she is right let me go" Natalie yelled as she finally got her car door unlocked..

"Natalie i love you" Cris yelled at her..

"stay the hell away from me" she yelled as she skidded out of the parking lot, damn near running him over as he chased after the car, and she just kept driving, she drove all night with tears coursing down her cheek, her life was over, officially and completely over..

The sound of the train conductor speaking over the loud speaker and announcing the arrival to Lanview made her stomach clench, this was it, like it or not she was back in Lanview..

She heard Gigi before she even saw her and then within seconds she was nearly being knocked over as she got off the train and Gigi hugged her.."Oh my god Nat i missed you so much, you have no idea" she began as she hugged natalie tightly..

"Missed you too" Natalie began as she tried to gasp for breath as Gigi continued to hug her..

"You look amazing, i mean you lost some weight and you need to eat more but look at you" Gigi said with excitement as she finally pulled back and looked at her friend..

"Thanks you look awesome" natalie said as she took in Gigi's new look, she had short multicolored hair cut into a pixie do, she was dressed in a small concert tshirt and skinny jeans, on her feet were black combat boots, yep this was the punky Gigi she remembered, she was sure that gigi was the only one who could pull off this look and look damn hot while doing it..

"I havent even showered yet" Gigi laughed as natalie looked up at the large man coming over, he had to be atleast six and a half feet tall with long black hair that went down his back and he was dressed similar to Gigi with a concert tshirt and jeans, though not skinny thankfully and finished off with black boots, he was intimidating to say the least.."Oh oh and this is Steele, steele this is natalie my bestie" Gigi said with a grin..

"Natalie" Steele nodded politely at her and she swallowed hard as she looked at the two of them, Gigi looked really happy and that was saying something..

"well lets get out of here, i seriously need a drink" Gigi said as she grabbed natalies hand and off they went..

It was so weird being back in lanview, it seemed like nothing changed at all and natalie knew that she would eventually have to see her parents and she dreaded that even though they were fully aware of her coming back..

They headed to Rodi's, a small bar in town, a place natalie use to frequent when she lived there and yet that too seemed the same. They all ordered beers and made their way to a table, natalie faked a smile as Gigi went on about her new life as a tattoo artist, Steele too was in the field, apparently that was how they met and they were happy, that was apparent.. Thankfully Gigi had kept all conversation about Cris to a minimum but natalie knew all to well that Gigi was just waiting for them to be alone for her to start with the million and one questions..

Gigi had done well for herself over the years, Natalie was happy for her and a bit jealous, it seemed Gigi had gotten everything she had wanted in life, atleast it was working out for someone..

"so have you given any thought about what you wanna do now that your here" Gigi began with the questions.."Im sure your uncle would be thrilled to hire you"

"Yeah i havent thought to much about it" natalie said honestly, she really hated having to go to her uncle and beg for a job, i mean she was a forensic tech, its not like she could just get a job anywhere..

"she is an awesome forensic tech" Gigi gushed to Steele and natalie turned red.."and her uncle just happens to be the commish"

"lets not remind me of that" Natalie said with embarassment..

"Your uncle is the commish, but he is a Buchanan" Steele said in shock as he looked at both the girls.."Your a Buchanan?"

Natalie hung her head down, she hated to be reminded of that fact, the word always seem to infuse fear and well intimidation in people, she hated it growing up and she still hated it now..

"You know what, why dont we get another round of drinks" Gigi said quickly as she tried to change the subject.."what do you say sweetie"she said towards Steele with a nod of her head..

"yeah i'll uh, i'll go do that" he said as he looked at Gigi and then natalie and walked over to the bar..

"Im sorry" Gigi began as Natalie looked at her.."I know you hate to associate yourself" she began..

"its not that, its just,...you know how people look at me differently, i just" she sighed.."thats why i moved away from here in the first place, i was tired of being just another Buchanan" she said honestly..

"How are you doing really" Gigi asked with concern..

"im fine" Natalie sipped the rest of her beer..

"have you heard from him" Gigi asked..

"I dont want to talk about him" Natalie said quickly..

"Im really sorry about everything but i wont lie, im happy as shit that your here" Gigi said with a soft smile..

"Yeah im happy too" Natalie forced a smile, she honestly couldnt wait til the rest of the drinks came, she wanted nothing more than to just forget everything..

They continued to drink as the night went on and at nearly 11pm they all headed back to the apartment, Gigi had given her a quick run down of the place as well as a tour but Natalie wanted nothing more than to just be alone now, being back in lanview after everything that had happened was just a little overwhelming to say the least..So she said goodnight to Gigi and closed the door to her new bedroom and she sighed as she stood there, this was it, she was back at home groveling and with that she fell onto the bed..

It was dark in the room and very early in the morning when she heard a loud thud that woke her from her not so rested sleep and then the feel of the bed unexpectedly moving made her jump as she spun only to see the figure of a man on the bed and she screamed out as she tried to get out of the bed but the blankets were tying her down as she scrambled to get free, quickly grabbing a near by lamp as the man grumbled something and just as she went to toss the lamp her bedroom light when on as the door swung open..

"Natalie dont!" steele yelled out as she stared at him in shock and Gigi quickly came running into the room, natalie looked at them and then the strange man who was apparently trying to stand now, she held the lamp in her hand.."Just put the lamp down ok, he's my brother" Steele said as natalie looked back at the guy then at Steele and Gigi, her heart was racing dangerously fast..

"what the hell is going on" the man said drunkenly..

"this is your brother?" natalie said with confusion as she looked at the man then at Gigi and Steele..

"who's she?" the man began as he looked at Natalie...

"I told you to call next time your in town not just stop by John" Steele began..

"then what was the point of giving me the key" John continued as he looked at Natalie.."You can put the weapon down now" he said sarcastically as she quickly put the lamp back down..

"Your lucky i came when i did otherwise we'd be rushing you to the ER" Steele said with a shake of his head..

"i didnt know you had a brother" Natalie interjected..

"Yeah well John doesnt come around often unless he is in trouble" Gigi said as she looked at John..

"what? Cant i just come by to say Hi" John said with a shrug of his shoulders..

"Im gonna make some coffee" Gigi said as she spun for the door.."Nat come with me" she said and Natalie was more than happy to go, she was still a bit shakened up by all of this..

"since when do you guys have a room mate" John began as Natalie left the room and followed Gigi into the kitchen..

"I thought someone had broken in" Natalie began as Gigi walked over to the coffee pot..

"Im sorry i should of mentioned him, i just didnt think he would be coming by like that, are you ok?" Gigi asked with concern..

"yeah just a bit freaked out" Natalie said honestly..

"yeah well John is harmless...sort of" Gigi smirked..

"Ok that doesnt make me feel any better" Natalie said as she fidgeted with her hands..

"he's fine really, just a bit out there" Gigi said with a reassuring smile as she continued to make coffee.."But dont worry he usually only comes for a few days and then he is gone again"

"really, what does he do for a living" Natalie asked with curiosity..

"if i told ya then id have to kill ya" he said as he came in the kitchen and natalie turned red as she looked at him. There wasnt much of a family resemblence to him and Steele, i mean they both had long hair even though Steele's was definitely longer, both had blue eyes but John wasnt nearly as tall as Steele, he was maybe six foot and his build was alot smaller then his brothers.."hows that coffee coming along" he brought his attention to Gigi as Steele came in the kitchen..

"its coming" Gigi began as she rolled her eyes.."so what brings you back to town"

"Oh you know the usual" he grinned and then looked at natalie.."so whats your name"

"Natalie and im sorry again about the lamp" she said with embarassment..

"No harm done" he said as he walked over and put his hand out.."John" they shook and she swallowed hard, the slight charge she felt when their hands connected took her by surprise..He looked a bit caught off guard too as he pulled his hand back but it was quickly replaced with another look as he looked over at his brother.."so its cool if i crash here for a few"

"as long as there isnt an apb out on your ass" steele laughed..

"real funny bro" John said sarcastically as Gigi began taking out cups, natalie just stood back and watched the brothers interact..

"yeah well usually a 2am house calls means" steele began as John rolled his eyes..

"You know im a night owl and if i remember correctly you use to be one too before you became all domesticated" he laughed..

"hey i resent that tone, i worked hard to get him that way" Gigi laughed as Steele put his arm around her and kissed her head..

"what can i say man i got myself a great girl, you should try it sometime" Steele grinned..

"yeah i'll pass on the ole ball and chain" john laughed..

"Oh come on one day you will want to settle down" Gigi began and then she looked at Natalie.."or not" she swallowed hard..

"are you gonna jump on the relationship bandwagon too" John laughed as he looked at Natalie..

"No, i dont really" natalie began with a nervous shake of her head..

"enough about all of that" Gigi said quickly as she felt the tension rising.."how about that coffee" she said quickly as she began pouring a few cups..

"You know i think im just gonna go back to bed" Natalie said quickly as they all looked at her..

"alright but your missing out, Gi makes the best coffee in town" John grinned..

"dont you mean the country" Gigi laughed.."come on i'll walk with you" she said towards natalie..

"good night" Natalie said quickly as her and Gigi walked out of the kitchen..

"are you sure your ok" Gigi asked with concern..

"yeah im just tired, it was a long train ride" natalie said as they got to the door..

"i know it was, well listen i will take tomorrow off" Gigi began..

"Oh you dont have to do that" Natalie said quickly..

"I want to, we have so much to catch up on" Gigi said with a smile..

"yeah but the weekend will be here soon enough and i really have to stop by my parents tomorrow before they start beating down your door" she said honestly..

"do you want me to go with you" Gigi asked..

"No its fine, id rather just get it done and over with" Natalie said honestly even though the last thing she wanted to do was deal with her parents, mainly her father who hadnt liked Cris to begin with, she was sure he was gonna go on with the 'i told you so's'.

"well listen we will go out for dinner tomorrow, just me and you, that way the boys can hang out" Gigi smiled and then leaned in and hugged Natalie.."Im here for you girl, whatever you need"

"thanks and thanks for letting me stay, i promise it wont be for long" natalie began.

"dont you worry about that, you can stay as long as you like" Gigi said honestly.."night girl" she finished as she got to the door and then left, closing it behind her as natalie stood there..

Gigi made her way back into the kitchen where the guys were talking.."so whats that girls deal" John asked as she grabbed her cup of coffee..

"just a friend going through some hard times" Gigi said as she sipped her drink..

"well i guess im taking the couch then" John began..

"that would probably be a good idea, she almost knocked you out" Steele grinned..

"trust me i have been hit with worse" John grinned..

"yeah and i dont think i want an explanation to that" Gigi laughed..

"hey what can i say sometimes i bring out the best in people" John grinned as he drank back his coffee.."so is she single" he grinned..

"yeah i dont think so John" Gigi said sarcastically..

"what? " he smirked..

"trust me she doesnt need your craziness" she laughed..

"oh so now im crazy" he rolled his eyes..

"Oh i could think of some other words to describe what you are" Steele interjected..

"You know im not really feeling the love around here" John shook his head..

"yeah and its late, we gotta get to bed" Steele said as he put his arm around Gigi..

"fine, you guys suck" John said as he sipped his coffee..

"its called being employed, you should try it sometime" Steele laughed.."well see you in a few hours" they began walking towards the doorway..

"yeah yeah just kept the sex to a minimum, aint no one want to hear that at night" John grinned..

"ah your just jealous" Steele laughed.."Night bro" he said as him and Gigi left the room and John sat at the table, his mind going to a certain red head..

Natalie climbed back in the bed, she knew that it was gonna be a long day tomorrow and she already dreaded it but she closed her eyes and attempted to find sleep..


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Natalie sat in front of her parents, it was exactlly what she had predicted would happen and then some, her mother was off making tea as always as her father went on and on about how all of this could of been avoided..

"You know maybe next time you will listen to me instead of running of with some boy" he continued..

"Dad i didnt come here for this ok" she said with annoyance..

"I just dont understand the decisions you make Natalie, you make everything so much harder on yourself" he began.."Do you know how hurt your mother was that you didnt help her with the paper"

"Im not an editor dad, im a forensic tech" she began..

"and yet another act of rebellion" he shook his head..

"Rebellion? Uncle Bo is the commissioner of the police department" she said with agravation..

"and he is also a male, why cant you just be like" he began..

Natalie cut him off.."Like jessica? I cant believe your saying this" she was so upset right now, she hated being compared to her sister Jessica, they were two totally different people. Jessica loved living in the lime light of the families fortune, Natalie hated it..

Her mother came in just as Natalie stood up, she held a tray of tea in her hand.."Im sorry i have to go mom" she said as she spun and looked at her..

"But you just got here and i made tea" her mother began as Natalie looked back at her father and then at her mother..

"i just have to go" she said as she left them both standing there..

"I just dont get that girl" her father said as he looked at his wife Vicki..

"what did you say to her Clint" she said with anger as she put the tray down..He made his way over the bar in his study as Vicki continued.."Damn it Clint all you do is push her away" she yelled..

"she is a Buchanan, its about time she starts acting like one and stops all this childish nonsense" he yelled as he poured himself a drink..

Natalie found herself heading over to Rodi's, she was so pissed at her father right now, when would he start treating her like the adult she was, i mean for god sake she was twenty four not some child and she definitely wasnt Jessica, it was times like these that she wanted to just find a rock somewhere and hide under it.

Natalie made a little bit of small talk with Mac the bartender and then took her beer to a secluded table, it wasnt even noon yet and she was drinking but she didnt care, right now this is just what she needed..

The sound of a familiar voice caught her attention.."You know what they say about drinking before noon" Natalie looked up to see John standing there.."that it is five oclock somewhere" he grinned as he held a beer in his hand..

"Oh..HI..John, right?" she said as he took a seat in front of her..

"and your Natalie, glad to see you have no weapons in your hand today" he smirked..

Natalie felt her face turning red.."yeah, im sorry again"

"Im just glad my brother came when he did" he smiled as he sipped his beer, he definitely was even better looking then she remember, he sort of looked like a bad boy with his leather jacket on and tossled hair.."so what brings you around here today"

"guess i was just looking for some peace and quiet" she began as he smirked..

"Peace and quiet at a bar, now thats a new one" he casually drank his beer.."so are you from here or are you just visiting" he asked..

"From here" she began..

"I havent seen you around" he began...

"well i am from here but i was gone for a few years" she said as she sipped her drink..

"so you actually left this god forsaken place and then came back, why" he said with a laugh..

"lanview isnt so bad" she said with a soft smile..

"its not very interesting either, im more of a big city guy" he grinned..

"but your here now" she cocked her head to the side..

"You got me there" he finished off his beer.."do you want another?"

"sure why not" she said as she finished off her beer and he stood and made his way over to the bar as she watched him, damn he had a fine ass, she quickly shook the thoughts from her head, seriously the last thing she needed was to start thinking about another guy, she had learned her lesson the hard way, right now she had to just worry about herself and no one else..

A few beers later and they were both joking and laughing about how messed up life was, natalie was actually enjoying herself..

"so then she was like i have a secret and she goes on to tell me she has five kids by five different guys" he continued..

"Oh my god, no way" Natalie interjected..

"and get this she was four months pregnant" he said as he cringed inwardly..

"Oh my god and she just thought you would jump in and play daddy, geez what the hell is wrong with some people" natalie said with a shake of her head..

"Your telling me, needless to say i was out of there fast" he laughed as he finished off his beer.."go on your turn, im sure you have some wild stories"

"Yeah of course... I mean...my ex... he um...one time" she began to ramble and then stopped as she stared down at her beer..

"Hey, its alright you dont have to" he said as she shook her head..

"im sorry its just" she said quietly..

"hey the guys an asshole" he said as she looked up now..

"and you know that how" she rolled her eyes..

"cause you said he was your ex and im sure he got that way by being a prick" he smiled..

"Yeah, he is" she smiled a little some as she finished off her beer and then stood.."You know i should probably head back, Gigi wanted to do something for dinner tonight and if i keep drinking"

He stood too.."good point"

"this was nice, so thank you" she said a bit nervously..

"anytime Nat" he smiled.."I'll see you back at the place"

"Ok" she said and then they were both going outside and towards their own cars, she couldnt help the stupid grin that was on her face, he wasnt so bad after all, actually he was pretty damn funny, she liked him..

It was a quick drive back to the apartment and soon they were both getting out of their cars and heading inside.."so are you staying in town for awhile" she asked as they walked inside the building and headed to the elevator..

"Oh i dunno, i never really stay long" he said honestly as the elevator doors opened and they both stepped inside, natalie hit the button as the doors closed..

The mood got quiet as soon as the doors closed, maybe it was the closed in space but Natalie became oddly aware of him standing closely next to her and she felt her heart begin to race, it was odd..

The sound of the soft music playing in the background made her giggle a little, it was also partly the alcohol she had consumed..

"You know i always hated the music in these things, i swear the other day they were playing a remake of britney spears" he laughed and she did too as they looked at one another and then it happened, out of no where it would seem cause one second they were laughing and the next he had her back pinned against the wall as his mouth seductively attacked hers.

The moment changed from playful and laughing to something smoldering hot as they hands moved through each others hair and he pressed his body against hers making it well known how ready he was and she was lost in the moment, the feeling of his tongue, his hands, his body, god she wanted this, actually she needed this, wasnt there a saying that the best way to get over someone was by getting with someone else? Sex as a distraction to how her life had fallen apart was definitely working, the sound of a ding to alert them to their floor made them both pull apart, panting slightly as she stared at the now opening door in front of them..

Without either of them saying a word they walked to the apartment quickly, she honestly didnt know what to think about this and as she fumbled to get her key out she finally took a deep breath.."listen i um" she began with embarassment as she kept her back to him..

"You dont need to apologize, its fine..were both adults here" he began..

"yeah but" she swallowed the lump in her throat and then he moved around her and faced her as she felt her heart race..

"its cool natalie..you dont need to be embarassed" he said calmly and she hated how unaffected he looked..

"i just... im not like one of those girls you know" she said as an explanation..

"I never said you were, sometimes two people just connect" he said as his hand landed on hers that was on the door knob and she didnt know why that small gesture seemed so, so hot!.."id be lying if i said i didnt want to take you against the wall again" he said in a low seductive voice, she had never had anyone be so vocal about what they wanted, so out there.."do you want that" he stared at her and she swallowed the lump in her throat and then she quickly opened the door and stepped inside, much to her surprise the place was empty and quiet, apparently Steele and Gigi werent home yet..

She honestly didnt know what to say or do, she heard him close the door as she stood there, she felt like she was at some sort of a cross roads, i mean he was devestatingly handsome and from what she felt of his body, well he had an awesome body and his tongue, my god his tongue felt wonderful..

"say something" he said softly as he walked around her and took off his coat and she swallowed the lump in her throat and he moved closer to her as she stiffened some..He brought his hand up to her cheek and then ran it slowly down her jaw and then her neck..And then his mouth was moving towards her neck, he was really good at the art of seduction she thought to herself as his mouth got to her ear.."god you smell so good, like peaches" he groaned and then she felt his mouth on her neck and his tongue tracing her soft skin as she gasped..His free hand went to her wrist and he grabbed it hard and shoved it against the rock hard bulge in his jeans.."You feel that, thats all you" he groaned as she gasped again and then he pulled his mouth from her neck, her hand still on his bulge.."show me" he said in a low voice as he looked between them to her hand and then back up at her and then she did the unthinkable, something totally unlike her, she grabbed him and hard through his jeans.."now thats what i am talking about" he said before his mouth attacked hers almost violently..

Before she even knew what was happening he was lifting her and holding her against him as he began to move, her eyes were closed but she was half sure that he was heading down the hall to her room and honestly at this point she didnt care, all she knew was that he felt so good, his tongue felt so good and he smelt amazing, the sound of a door being closed made her eyes open and there they were, in her bedroom as he was putting her back down on her feet, and then clothes were being ripped off and panting was heard on both ends until his mouth was on hers again, with her bra and panties still on and his jeans still on he was on top of her on the bed as he ground himself against her..

She was pure sensation as his hands moved down her body, cupping her breasts and squeezing them as his mouth began to descend down her body, she felt high, like she was on some sort of cloud, she never remembered it feeling this good.

His tongue trailed between her breasts and past her bra as he yanked it down, forcing her breasts up as his hands went to them and then she arched her back as she felt his mouth enclose around one nipple as his other hand pinched and tugged at the other, and soon he was repeating the same torture to her other nipple as she bit back a cry and her hands fisted into the blankets..

Moments later his hands were trailing down her sides as his tongue moved down to her rib cage and then lower to her stomach, the stubble on his face only amplified what she was already feeling and then he was pulling her legs apart as he pulled on her panties, slowly dragging them from her body and then tossing them aside as his fingers dug into her hips and then she felt his tongue graze against her soft skin between her legs and she shivered in response, her eyes opening as she stared at the ceiling and his tongue pushed past her folds and entered her roughly, she tried to hold in a strangled cry as his mouth and tongue worked her body..

His tongue moved in and out of her body, lapping against her skin as she bit her lip to contain her moans of pleasure and soon his tongue was replaced with one of his fingers and she nearly lost it as her hips bucked up on the bed repeatedly and he held her down with one hand..His tongue continued to work her sensitive bundle of nerves as his finger moved in and out of her body quickly, she had never been so hot so fast and as he moved a second finger inside of her she gasped and her legs began to shake as her orgasm took over but he didnt stop, no he pushed her body to limits she didnt even know exsisted and soon her hands were in his hair, holding him in place as she rode wave after wave of her orgasm, it seemed endless..

When he moved back up her body she watched him, he looked like a sex god, his hair all messed up, his chest was wide and muscular with just the right spattering of tattoos across it, his abs were taunt and tight, definitely a six pack and then he was kissing her again as she tasted herself on his tongue, it was by far one of the most erotic things she had ever done..

When he pulled back from her again he leaned up and unbuttoned his pants as he kept his eyes on her the entire time, it was a sight to see, he had just a small amount of sweat glistening on his body, she licked her lips in anticipation, she couldnt believe she was doing this and he grinned at her, that sexy sexy grin that promised so much and then he was removing his jeans and his boxer briefs but not before retrieving a condom from his pocket and tearing it open with his teeth before gliding it on his considerable length that made her swallow hard, he was huge..

He pulled her up with him and within seconds he had her bra off and tossed onto the floor as he put his hand on the back of her neck and attacked her mouth once more, with his other free hand he wrapped it under her body and yanked her up so that her legs went around him and then he was sinking them down onto the bed as his heavy weight surrounded her and his cock rubbed between her wet and swollen folds.

Then with just the right amount of movement and sway of his hips he was gliding into her body, groaning as she took a tight hold on him, dragging him deeper into her until they were both panting and gasping as he filled..

"fuck... you feel so good" he said as his mouth moved from hers and all she could do was moan in response and then he was moving, slow at first but quickly picking up the pace as he thrust into her over and over again, she couldnt contain her moans that were pouring from her mouth and neither could he as his mouth moved back to her nipples and he sucked against each one..

"Oh my god" she began to moan over and over as her body began to take over..

"thats it sweetheart, cum for me" he groaned as he picked up the pace more and soon he was thrusting into her with a punishing rythmn that felt as good as it felt painful, she had never ever had anyone take her this way and well, she liked it, alot! Her body shook and shuddered as her legs tightened around him and then he was leaning up as he threw his head back, grinding himself into her now he groaned deep.."fuck!" he said loudly as he too found his release..

He collasped on her as they both breathed heavy, trying to regain a part of themselves as they laid there kissing once more and then he was rolling off of her.."wow" she finally said breathless as he looked over at her and grinned..

"yeah...wow" he said as they both began to laugh..

They laid there for quite a few minutes just breathing heavy as they stared at the ceiling.."You ok?" he asked as she looked at him..

"better then ok" she said honestly as he grinned and then leaned up on one arm, he looked incredibly sexy like that, his muscles damn near rippling but the mood was cut short by a knocking on the door and they both looked at it..

"hey nat are you home" Gigi's voice was heard as natalie's eyes got wide and she jumped up and looked at John.."Nat can i come in" she continued..

"Oh my god" Natalie gasped quietly as she looked at John, the last thing she wanted was Gigi to see her in bed with him.."Um... yeah just give me a minute" she said as she scrambled to her feet.."closet, get in the closet" she whispered to john..

"what? You want me to get in the closet?" he said quietly as she grabbed her shirt and quickly put it on..

"Just go...now" she grabbed his clothes off the floor and threw them at the closet as she pushed him in as he held back a laugh.."just dont say anything" she whispered almost frantically as she closed the closet door and she quickly tried to fix her bed and her hair as she kicked her panties under the bed as well as her bra..

"if this is a bad time" Gigi continued as Natalie ran to the door and opened it breathless..

"bad time, no of course not, why would it be a bad time" she said quickly as Gigi looked at her strange..

"You alright? You look a little" Gigi began as Natalie smoothed her hair back..

"I was sleeping" Natalie lied as Gigi came in the room..

"yeah i can see that, are we still on for tonight" she asked as she walked in more and natalie followed her but out of the corner of her eye she saw the condom on the ground and she gasped as Gigi jumped.."what? What is it" she said quickly..

"Nothing, its just" she said quickly and then she hugged Gigi tight, moving her out of the sight of the condom.."Im just am so glad i am here" she continued..

"Yeah and so am i" Gigi laughed as she pulled back some, natalie kept looking at the condom and then the closet door, John had opened it some.."You seem a bit off, you sure your ok"

"yeah...just...I just have to go to the bathroom" Natalie said quickly..

"alright you dont have to get all frantic about it" Gigi laughed as Natalie walked her over to the door.."Oh by the way have you seen John, i saw his car was here" Gigi began as Natalie stopped at the door..Natalie froze some as she stood there.."nevermind he is probably out for a run, he does that alot" Gigi said quickly..

"Oh im sure..." Natalie swallowed hard..

"alright well the bathroom is out here" Gigi began..

"yeah let me just um pick out some clothes for tonight" Natalie said nervously..

"Alright well im gonna get a beer, want one" Gigi asked..

"sure...beer sounds great" Natalie said quickly as Gigi looked at her strange again..

"Alright then, im gonna go do that" she eyed her friend suspiciously..

"Ok...i will get ready" Natalie said as she quickly closed the door and then gasped as John stood outside the closet door with only his jeans on.."jesus she could of saw you" she whispered some..

"or this" he grinned as he walked across the room and picked up the condom and then tossed it in the trash..

"oh my god dont put it in there" she said quickly..

"why not its the trash" he began as Natalie ran over to it and looked inside the garbage..

"cause she will see" she said as she grabbed some tissues and quickly put them on top of the condom..

"You know its not that big of a deal natalie" John began..

"yes, yes it is" Natalie said quickly as she looked at him.."I barely know you"

"well i wouldnt say barely" he grinned as he moved closer to her and bit his own lip..

"You know what i mean" she swallowed hard.."Listen i just...i dont..." she began to ramble..

"hey listen its alright, if you dont want Gi to know then its cool" he said as she looked at him..

"really?" she said in surprise..

"Listen its not like i was planning on running out there and telling them my business or anything" he touched her arm.."we enjoyed each others company, nothing wrong with that"

"i know its just,...i just got out of a bad relationship" she began as she shook her head..

"and its cool Natalie,...trust me im not looking to jump into anything, we had fun, no worries" he said as she swallowed hard.."It doesnt have to be weird"

"i know, its just, i never, you know" she began nervously.."im not usually"

"You dont have to explain it to me, its fine..i mean hell we dont even need to do that again if you didnt want to" he said as she looked at him..

"why cause you dont want to" she said quickly..

"I didnt say that" he grinned as he leaned in and kissed her once more.."friends?" he said as he pulled back..

"yeah..sure" she swallowed hard..

"You should go out there with her so i can get out of here" he said after she just stared at him for a few moments..

"yeah, im gonna do that" she said as she quickly walked to the door..She wanted to say something more to him but she didnt know exactlly what and so she left without another word and she went to meet Gigi in the kitchen..

Natalie was able to buy John some time as she stayed with Gigi in the kitchen and John made his way out of the room and then acted as if he had just showed up, thankfully Gigi didnt seem to see anything out of the ordinary and so Natalie headed off to the bathroom finally to get ready to go out but she couldnt quite get John out of her mind and the mind blowing sex they had..

When she had left AC all she took was two suitcases full of clothes, everything else she left behind and right about now as she got ready to go out she had wished she had packed more, so she finally settled on a short denim skirt that she hadnt worn in years and a black tank top. It literally had been years since she had gone out like this, she honestly didnt know what to do with herself and so she headed into the livingroom where Gigi sat with the guys and she swallowed hard as she saw John..

"wow now that is hot" Gigi said approvingly as she got up and natalie fidgeted nervously..

"remind me again why i have to stay home" Steele said with a shake of his head disapprovingly..

"cause this is a girls night out" gigi grinned.."Plus you and John can take the time to catch up"

"I would much rather be with you" Steele began and then he looked at John.."No offense"

"None taken" John smirked and then he looked at natalie who quickly looked away..

"we wont be late" Gigi said with a smile as she stepped on her tip toes and Steele leaned down and kissed her, Natalie made her way to the door but not before stealing another look at John who happened to have a smirk on his face and then Gigi was walking over.."later guys" she said and quickly they left..

"so its just the two of us" John said as he went to walk into the kitchen..

"Yep and now your going to tell me exactlly why you are in town" Steele said as John stopped at the entrance way.."You know i dont like lying to Gigi, its a case isnt it"

"You know i cant give you the details" John said as he walked in the kitchen and Steele followed him..He got to the fridge and pulled out two beers and handed one to Steele.."trust me the less you know the better"

"You always say that" Steele said as he sipped on the beer..

"You know i cant tell you, so just leave it like that" John said as he took a swig of his beer..

"I get why you have to keep all the secrets" Steele began..

"then you wont ask any more questions, like i said before, the less you know the better, cant we just enjoy the fact that im in town" John said with a sigh..

"For how long this time" Steele leaned against the counter..

"Not long, just picking up some loose pieces" John said nonchalantly..

"I dont know how you do it man, living like that, always going from one place or another, dont you get tired of it" Steele said honestly..

"Its who i am" John shrugged his shoulders..

"My baby brother the big fbi agent, im never gonna get use to that you know" Steele shook his head..

"Yeah well i will be out of your hair soon enough" John said as they both drank back their beers..


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The girls headed to Capricorn, a large club in Lanview for some food and drinks, it definitely was more popular now that natalie was back in town, she remembered when the place was first built.

They had taken a booth and ordered some food as music played in the background.."so how did it go with your parents" Gigi asked as they sipped on their margarettas.

"Like i expected" natalie said with a sigh..

"that bad huh" Gigi shook her head.."You would think your dad would just let you live your life"

"Yeah well i should of known better" Natalie said honestly..

"so are you gonna talk to your Uncle Bo then" Gigi asked.."Your an awesome forensic tech Natalie, dont let them hold you back"

"I know its just" natalie took a deep breath.."I hate for everyone to think i got the position because of my name"

"No one is gonna think that nat, your too hard on yourself" Gigi said honestly..

"thanks" natalie swallowed hard as her mind began to drift to John, she was still in shock over everything.."so um, off that subject, what exactlly does John do" Natalie tried to sound nonchalant..

"god knows, he is always coming and going, i mean i know he is Steele's brother and all but the guy has some serious issues" Gigi began..

"Oh yeah, like what" natalie tried to seem uninterested..

"Oh you know, he's just a player, i mean if i could count all of the women he has fucked around with" Gigi shook her head and Natalie swallowed hard..

"really" now she felt sick..

"yeah but you dont have to worry about that, its not like you slept with him or anything" Gigi laughed and natalie forced one..

"thank god for that" she looked back at her drink..

The girls had a good time dancing and drinking as the night went on and soon they were both exhausted and heading home but Natalie couldnt help but hear Gigi's words in her head, had she allowed herself to sleep with a player, she hated how stupid she felt but then again she was a willing partner, right, could she really even be mad about that?

The place was quiet as the girls got home and Natalie was grateful for that,John was fast asleep on the couch and that was good cause she was buzzing pretty hard and the last person she wanted to see was him and so she quickly said goodnight to Gigi and they both headed to their rooms..

Natalie began to strip out of her clothes, she couldnt believe she had danced so much but now she was covered in a sheen of sweat and she grabbed a towel that was on her bed and she wrapped it around herself as she went to her door, a quick shower and then sleep, she kept thinking as she stepped out into the hall but she stopped immediately when she saw she wasnt alone cause right there, coming out of the bathroom was John, dressed in only a pair of boxer briefs that hugged his oh so hot body and she gulped..

His eyes looked her up and down and then landed on her face.."have fun?" he asked as she swallowed hard..

"Yeah, its been awhile since i have been out" she said as she clung to the towel that was wrapped tightly around her..

He rubbed the hair on his chin as he looked at her and then he backed up from the door.."alright then, have a good night natalie" he said as she slowly walked to the door, her eyes never leaving his, he looked amazing standing there and the way his fingers stroked the hair on his chin, it took everything in her to keep walking as her knees got weak..

She stepped into the bathroom and slowly turned to face him.."goodnight" she said just above a whisper..

"Night" he said again as his hand went for the door and she stiffened, it looked as though he was gonna walk in but instead she watched as he closed the door and she finally let out the breath she had been holding in..

Her shower ended up being less then refreshing as she felt more than sexually frustrated as she walked into her room, she was half tempted to join him in the livingroom but she thought against it, what she wasnt expecting to see was him laying on her bed and completely naked as she entered her room and gasped as he turned his head and looked at her, she couldnt speak, she was literally in shock and then her eyes trailed down his body and stopped at his hand that was securely wrapped around his massive erection and she swallowed hard again..

He rolled his head and looked back up at the ceiling as his hand moved slowly up and down his shaft and she quietly shut the door as she stood there, the soft groans coming from him did all kinds of crazy things to her body as she stood there yet again in only a towel..

"come here" his voice was low but his tone was demanding and she found herself walking over to him as he rolled his head to the side again and then he was sitting up as he reached out for her and grabbed her towel as she gasped and it fell to the ground.. She felt powerless standing there, like as if her body was not her own..

He stood in front of her as his eyes locked with hers.."Nice shower?" he asked with a smirk and all she could do was nod her head yes..He leaned his face towards her neck and inhaled as his stubble grazed her face and neck.."Mmmmmm" he groaned and it sent a shiver up her spine.."touch me" he whispered in her ear as he grabbed her wrist and placed her hand over his erection..She couldnt believe she was doing this and again with him but her hand wrapped around his thick length and he groaned.."thats it, stroke me" he groaned as his tongue began to lap against her neck and she was lost in the feeling as her hand began to move up and down on him..

But quickly he was grabbing her and spinning her around as her back fell onto the bed and she held back a moan as he leaned over her.."your so hot" he said as his mouth collasped onto hers and she moaned softly into his mouth as he slid himself against her.."so wet already sweetheart?" he grinned as he pulled back and then reached across the bed, grabbing a condom she hadnt seen and then he held it in front of her mouth.."bite" his words were so seductive and sensual she could barely think as she bit down on the wrapper and he pulled it, freeing the condom with a grin and then he was leaning up and pushing it on to himself as she swallowed hard.."this will be quick" he warned and then he was entering her as his mouth fell onto hers and he captured her moans..

He fucked her fast and hard, his mouth never leaving hers as she moaned against him, desperately trying to keep her sounds to a minimum but he just felt so good and then he was rolling them over as she straddled him and he moved up til they were both sitting and his hands went to her ass as he moved her against him and she felt her body begin to quicken in response...

He pulled his mouth from hers and lightly bit against her lip.."thats it, cum for me, cum on me" he groaned and just like that her orgasm took over as she threw her head back and rode him wildly, biting her tongue to block out any noises and then he was sucking hard against her nipples as his body tensed and she felt him swell inside of her as he too found his release quietly..

They laid on the bed entwined in one another for a few long moments as they tried to regain their breathing..

"mmmm that was" she began with a sigh..

"i know, you are one talented woman Natalie" he grinned as she moved off of him and smiled.."Now that is a nice look for you"

"and what look would that be" she said with a cheesy smile she couldnt seem to get off of her face..

"thoroughly fucked look" he grinned..

"Uh yeah, i mean that was amazing" she said honestly..

"well i try" he said as he sat up some..

"yeah well you dont have to try really hard" she smiled as he began to get up and grab his clothes..

"well its only cause you make it easy" he said as he pulled his boxer briefs back on and then his jeans which were apparently hidden in the dark room.."But now you need to get some sleep"

"You know you dont have to go" she began as she looked at him, she wanted him to lay in bed more..

"as tempting as that is"..he glanced at the door then back at her.."I dont feel like giving Gigi a heart attack" he smirked..

Natalie fell back onto the bed.."yeah your right" she said as she laid there and stared at the ceiling..

"i'll see you tomorrow" he said as he got to the door and she couldnt help but feel like she had just been used, i mean its not that she had tried to stop him or anything, she just wasnt use to fucking someone and then having them leave like that, it was, well a bit unnerving.."good night Natalie" he said as he quietly left and she laid there, staring at the ceiling, what the hell was she doing?

Natalie barely got any sleep as she tossed and turned in bed. When she finally decided to get out of bed and brace the morning she saw that everyone had left already, including John which for the most part was a good thing.

Gigi had left her a note explaining that she would see her tonight and so Natalie knew she would have to go see him, her uncle, like it or not he was her only hope of getting a job in this town and so she cleared her mind of all the thoughts surrounding it and she got herself ready, today she would see if she had a job at none other then the Lanview police department..

The police station was just how she remembered it all those years ago before she had left, she had spent alot of time there as a child and while she was going to school to be a forensic tech, her nerves began to get the best of her as she stood outside of it, what would her uncle think? Would he too yell at her like her father did? Suddenly this wasnt seeming like such a good idea..

"Natalie? Natalie Buchanan" her name being called out caught her off guard as she spun and looked into a familiar pair of blue eyes, ones she knew all to well, it was her old classmate from school, who apparently was now working at the police station..

"Brody Lovette" she said in shock as he came over to her, grinning from ear to ear..

"i didnt know you were back in town, how the hell are you girl, i havent seen you since you left three years ago" he said as he embraced her in a big bear hug..

"Nice to see you too" she said with a smile as he pulled back..

"so are you in town for long?" he asked with a smile.."I heard you had got engaged, so congrats"

Natalie swallowed hard as she stood there, she knew something like this was bound to happen.."Yeah im not um...you know the whole engagement thing" she began nervously..

He now looked just as uncomfortable as she felt.."Oh im sorry Nat, i didnt mean, its just, i thought" he began to ramble, he definitely was the same ole brody that she remembered..

"No its fine, dont worry about it" she put on a brave face..

"so does this mean your here to stay" he asked with curiosity..

"yeah it would seem that way" she said a bit nervously..

"Well alright then" he grinned big.."are you coming to see Bo" he began and then his eyes got wide.."holy crap are you gonna be working here?" he asked with his eyes lit up..

"Oh i dont know, its been a while" she began to fidget with her hands..

"Like hell it has, come on i will walk with you" he said with a smile.."We definitely need someone with your smarts around here" he began as they walked towards the doors.."are you staying back at your parents?" he asked..

She nodded her head no.."with Gigi" she said with a smile..

"you two always were inseperatable" he grinned.."Oh check this out" he said with a huge grin as he rolled up his sleeve to show a large tattoo of a dragon on his fore arm..

"Nice tat" Natalie admired the work on his arm.."Gigi did this?"

"the one and only" he grinned.."she has an awesome eye for these things"

"yeah i know" she said honestly and quickly they were walking in..

Walking in wasnt nearly as bad as she had first imagined, instead of the stares she assumed she would get, she was welcomed with smiles and questions of how she had been, hell half of her classmates worked there now as either officers or techs, she wasnt use to all the smiling faces..

Brody nudged her as they moved past some of her fellow classmates.."told you everyone would be siked that your back" he grinned and she couldnt help but smile now, maybe it wouldnt be so bad..

Walking out of one of the offices she stopped when she saw her uncle, he smiled when he saw her.."i thought i heard a commotion going on out here" he said with a grin..

"uncle Bo" she smiled, suddenly she felt at home and at ease..

"Natalie" he smiled as he came over to her and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a big bear hug..

"I'll see you later Nat" Brody said as he left and she stood there hugging her uncle, she had missed this, she had missed him..

"Let me look at you" Bo said as he kept her at arms length.."You not eating enough" he began and she rolled her eyes.."but your still as beautiful as i remember" he hugged her again..

"thanks uncle bo" she said as she hugged him again.."Your not so bad yourself"

"You know i got to be honest, i heard you were in town but i wanted to give you space" he said as he pulled back.."how are you"

"Im good, im getting there" she said with a smile..

"good for you hunnie, my brother isnt giving you a hard time is he" he began as he looked at her...

"well you know dad" she said honestly..

"well you just leave him to me ok" he smiled.."come on lets go in my office" he grinned as she took his hand and they walked to his door and then inside as he closed it.."coffee?"

"No thanks, already had some" she said a bit nervously as she stood there and he made his way around his desk..

"so what do i owe the pleasure, besides wanting to come see your most favorite uncle" he grinned..

"My only uncle" she smiled big.."but still the best"

"Yeah well your uncle has been knee deep in shit since you left, so please tell me that your here to work, i dont think my heart could take you leaving again" he smiled as he sipped his coffee..

"well...if you um...if you will have me" she began nervously and now he rolled his eyes..

"is that a trick question? When can you start" he smiled big and now so did she..

Natalie left the police station with more than just a bounce in her step, she hadnt been welcomed with snears and whispering but with smiles and happiness, it was more than she could of asked for and with that she headed to Rodi's to get herself a celebration drink because tomorrow she was going to be lanviews newest forensic tech and she was beyond excited for that..

Natalie had sent Gigi a quick text to let her know the good news and then she headed to the bar, even mac noticed her good spirits as she stood over by the bar and ordered a beer..

"well i say whatever it is that is making you smile, you should definitely keep it up" he smiled big as he handed her a beer..

"its just a good day mac, a very good day" she said as she turned with the beer in her hand but her smile was quickly becoming a frown when she saw who was also at the bar and he wasnt alone, no cause right now there was a girl on his lap and his tongue was down her throat, it was John..

For a moment she thought that maybe she had mistaken him but she hadnt, it was him and he was fully enjoying himself as he cupped this girls ass and then nibbled on her neck, to say she felt disgusted would be an understatement..Gigi was right, he was nothing but a damn player and she had fallen right into his trap, the sound of her phone ringing loudly snapped her from her thoughts as she fumbled with her beer and her purse to retrieve it but not before catching Johns eyes landing on her..She didnt even look to see who it was, she was so pissed..

"hello?" she said quickly as she turned from the disgusting couple and placed her beer on the counter..

"natalie" she heard his voice and froze, it was Cris, damn it why didnt she check her phone first, she had been avoiding his calls for days and now this.."I...I ..i didnt think you would answer"

"I have nothing to say to you Cris" she said angrily..

"Please please dont hang up" he begged and something in her made her keep her phone to her ear.."How are you"

"how am i?" she couldnt help the bitter laugh that came out of her mouth..

"Im sorry ok, you have no idea how sorry i am" he began and she shook her head but something made her look across the bar again and there was John coming over and she knew she had to get out of there and so she made a bee line for the door..

"You can keep your apologies, i dont want them" she said to Cris as she got outside..

"cant we just even talk about this" he began..

"Talk? There is nothing to say, i saw you cris, i caught you" she began to yell, her voice cracking from emotion and not just from the telephone conversation, oh no, cause now it was something more, someone else causing her breakdown..

"natalie" he said again..

"just leave me alone" she yelled as she hung up and got to her car, dropping her keys onto the ground as she quickly went to pick them up but another pair of hands got to them first, a pair of hands that she recognized right away because just a few short hours ago they were all over her body..

"hey, are you ok" John asked with concern as he held her keys in his hand..

"Im fine" she snapped at him..

"that looked like one hell of a phone conversation" he said as if she hadnt just witnessed him making out with some girl, she didnt know if she wanted to beat the shit out of him or just cry..

"yeah well that was none of your business" she snapped as she grabbed the keys from him but he grabbed her hand before she could take them..

"Your shaking" he said as he looked at her..

"and your point is" she snatched her hand back from him as he stood there and then he ran his hand through his hair..

"it was your ex?" he continued and she fought the tears that were threatening to fall..

"yeah, happy now" she said as she shook her head..

"the guys a loser" he began and she let out a bitter laugh, now wasnt that the pot calling the kettle black!

"it seems to be a growing trend lately " she spun for her car and he grabbed her arm lightly..

"hey...its ok" he said softly and something about his tone, the concern in his voice, she couldnt help the tears that began to fall, was he just a sick twisted freak, was that it?.."come on you shouldnt be driving like that" he said as she kept her back to him..The tears began to fall quicker now as her silent cry became sobs.."come here, dont do this, he isnt worth it" he said as he pulled her against him and she cried into his chest, seriously what was his deal..

"i just, i shouldnt of answered the phone" she cried, she knew she had to say something and she couldnt believe she was allowing him to comfort her, hell just seconds ago he had his mouth on some girl and his hands god knows where..

"Its ok...he cant hurt you anymore" he said as she looked up at him now, tears coursing down her cheeks.."You shouldnt waste tears over him" he said as he wiped her face and she honestly didnt know what the hell was going on, why was he being like this?

His hands stayed on her face longer than necessary and then his face was moving slowly towards hers but before his lips could touch hers a voice was heard calling out..

"John...JOHN" a girl yelled and Natalie looked past him to the girl standing at the door of the bar, the same one he had been kissing on just minutes prior and he looked too..

"I have to go" Natalie said quickly as she spun from him..

"natalie just wait a minute" John began as natalie got her door open..

"You dont want to be rude and keep her waiting" she said with a shake of her head as she got into the car and he stood there and then she was taking off as the girl came walking over to him..

"who was that" the girl said a bit rudely..

"No one, she was no one" he said and then he turned to face the girl.."when is your boss gonna be here" he said with annoyance..

"when he damn well feels like it" she put her hands on her hips.."are we gonna stand out here all day or are we going back inside"

John looked out into the parking lot.."come on, i need a drink" he said quickly as the girl smiled..

"Now that is more like it" she smiled as they headed back inside..

Natalie drove around for awhile before she headed home, the last thing she wanted was for Gigi to see her like that, she didnt want to have to explain herself but soon her tears turned to anger, how could she of been so wrong about John and so stupid for having sex with him, Gigi was so right about him, so right!

Gigi was in the kitchen when she got home and she immediately greeted her with a huge smile and a beer.."this definitey calls for a celebration" Gigi said with a smile.."lets go out, anywhere you want"

"Gi we really dont have to do that" natalie began as Steele walked in the kitchen..

"we are not taking no for an answer" he grinned as he put his arm around Gigi..

"its just a job you guys" Natalie began as Gigi rolled her eyes..

"its more than that nat, its a fresh new start" Gigi grinned..

"I dont know" Natalie began nervously..

"did i hear someone mention a celebration" John said as he came in the kitchen and it took everything in natalie not to roll her eyes at him, actually she just ignored his presence..

"see its three against one" Gigi smirked..

"she's right you know" Steele grinned..

"fine, but not too late, i have to be at work early" natalie began as she ignored John and brought all of her attention to Gigi and Steele..

"Ok i promise" Gigi jumped up and down in excitement.."but i gotta get ready" she said as she grabbed Steele's hand and dragged him out of the kitchen which left natalie alone with John, she quickly turned and began drinking her beer..

"You doing ok" he asked and she rolled her eyes, she really wasnt in the mood for him right now.."Congrats on the job" he continued and she turned and faced him..

"excuse me" she went to walk past him but he reached out and grabbed her arm..

"are you mad at me?" he said in shock..

"why the hell would i be mad" she snapped as she yanked her arm back and he stood there with a puzzled look on his face..

"I dont know, why dont you tell me" he said with a shake of his head..

"you know what, i dont have time for this" she rolled her eyes and turned from him.."I need to get ready" she said as she left the room and he stood there a bit bewildered as to what the hell was going on..


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Natalie got dressed and did her best to ignore John, she was doing a pretty damn good job at it, even though she had to be in the backseat of Steele's suv, but thankfully Gigi was going on and on about her day at work that it made it easy to not have to talk to John.

She hated that even though she was pissed at him and well pissed at herself as well that she couldnt help but notice how nice he looked, he had on a pair of black slacks and a black button down shirt, he really looked delicious not to mention that he smelt divine and she could feel his eyes on her, and she fought the urge to roll her eyes at him, he could look all he wanted but he wasnt ever going to touch her again!

They headed to a new club on the outskirts of Lanview, it was called Shelter and Natalie had never been there before. The place was even more packed then Capricorn as they all got inside and live music was playing in the background..

"isnt this place awesome, it just opened not to long ago" Gigi said with a grin.."Great idea John" she smiled at him and natalie didnt even look his way..

"i thought it would be nice to do something different" John began as they all made their way to the bar and began ordering drinks..

"Oh my god i love this song" Gigi hollared with a smile as she grabbed Steele's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor, leaving natalie and John alone..

Natalie leaned against the bar and sipped her drink.."so do you like it" John asked loudly over the music...

"whatever" she said with a roll of her eyes as she continued drinking..

"do you want to tell me what this attitude is about" John began but he was cut off as a guy came up..

"Holy shit Natalie Buchanan" the guy said as Natalie turned and looked at one of her highschool buddies Cutter, she hadnt seen him in ages, actually last time she had heard anything about him he was in the marine corp..

"Cutter" she said with a smile, he looked even better then she remembered..

"Damn, you look amazing" Cutter said with a grin as she blushed some..

"Your not so bad yourself" natalie smiled, well aware that John was just sort of looking on at them..

"hey im sorry is this um" Cutter began as he looked at John..

"Oh were not together" natalie interjected quickly..

"John" he said quickly..

"Cutter" they shook hands.."any friend of natalie's is a friend of mine, let me get your next round of drinks" he continued..

"Oh you dont have to" Natalie began..

"it would be rude of me not to, plus i sort of own the place" he grinned big..

"What? This...this place is yours?" Natalie said in shock as John just continued drinking his beer..

"yep surprising huh" he smiled big.."me and Nat go way back, she knew me when i was just a little punk" Cutter said to John who forced a smile at him..

"yeah well you have done well for yourself" Natalie said honestly..

"i try" he grinned.."how about a dance for old times sake" he put his hand out to her and without a second thought she finished off her beer and took his hand and John watched in shock as she headed to the dance floor with this guy.."You really do look amazing" he continued as they got to the dance floor..

"and you were always a charmer" she grinned as they began to dance..

"You know i was really a jerk back then" he began as she shook her head..

"we were kids Cutter, you dont need to apologize" she began..

"yeah but it wasnt right and for what its worth, i am sorry" he said softly and she smiled..

"apology accepted" she grinned as they continued to dance..

John stood by the bar eyeing Natalie and Cutter, he was so lost in thought that he had almost missed the one person he had come there to see, Vincent and he was heading into the VIP area, John quickly finished off his beer and headed over there..

"i cant believe your a forensic tech, it seems just like yesterday that we were skipping school and drinking at the lake" Cutter continued..

"yeah were all grown up now" she smiled some as she went to look for John and then saw him disappear up some stairs..

"so your uh, single?" Cutter asked as she was snapped from her staring and she looked at him..

"Hmm?" she said quickly...

"your single?" he asked again..

"yep it would seem that way" she began.."and you?"

"yep, guess i just havent found the right girl" he began..

"yeah well sometimes life is like that" she began with a sigh...

"i think that is about to change though" he smiled and then leaned into her and she quickly moved back..He was about to kiss her.."im sorry...i shouldnt of"

"No im sorry, i just...listen i just got out of a relationship" she began..

"its ok you dont need to explain, its just... i shouldnt of done that" he continued and then his phone began to ring, it was perfect timing.."Im sorry i have to get this" he said as he answered his phone.."cutter" he began as Natalie took the opportunity to go back to the bar for another drink..

Natalie eyed the stairs that John had gone up and she looked up at the bartender, who was a dark haired girl with gigantic breasts damn near popping out of her shirt..."whats up those stairs?" she asked as she began to sip another beer..

"its the VIP area, why are you thinking of going up" the girl said a bit sarcastically..

"Maybe i am" Natalie returned the sarcasm as she grabbed her beer and headed towards the stairs, as she got to them cutter came back over..

"hey" he said as she stopped at the stairs.."Listen the drinks are on the house for the rest of the night ok" he said with a smile..

"You dont have to do that Cutter" she said quickly..

"Just let me ok, i feel like an ass as it is" he said with a shake of his head.."I gotta go check on something, anything you need dont hesitate to ask" he said as he went up the stairs and she watched him as she sipped her beer, Gigi came over with a smile on her face..

"was that Cutter?" she said in shocked..

"the one and only, apparently he owns the place" Natalie began..

"Little cutter, that shit owns this club" Steele said in shock as he came over.."Unbelievable, im in the wrong field of work" he laughed.."wheres my little bro?"

Natalie shrugged.."he went up there" he looked up the stairs..

"whats up there" Gigi asked..

"VIP area" Natalie sipped her beer..

"i swear that man gets more play then" Steele began as Gigi looked at him.."i mean, its disgusting really" he said quickly..

"Uh huh... thats what i thought" Gigi laughed as she nudged him.."come on i need another drink" she said as she grabbed Steele's arm.."You coming Nat?"

Natalie looked up at the stairs then back at her friend.."yeah just give me a minute" she said as Gigi took off with Steele and Natalie headed up the staircase..

At the top of the stairs stood two large men, one had a tablet in his hand, the other had his arms crossed over his wide chest..The one with the tablet spoke to her.."name please" he asked..

"Oh i was just wondering what this place was" natalie began as she tried to peak around the guy holding the tablet..

"well you aint finding out til i have a name" he said rudely and she rolled her eyes..

She hated what she did next but she knew that her name carried alot of weight in this town.."Natalie Buchanan, you got a problem buddy or should i call my father" she began as the guy got all wide eyed..

"Im so sorry Miss Buchanan, i didnt recognize you" he said apologetically.."Of course you can come in" he said as he stepped aside and she walked in..

The place was dimly lit with just a few red lights on, the main room had alot of couches in it as well as a few tables and she was shocked at what she saw, i mean people were literally sexing it up in there and she contemplated leaving but curiosity got the best of her as she walked through. There were two more rooms, each of them had the doors slightly open and she peeked into one, Cutter was in there and he was in a heated conversation with one of the men inside but John was no where to be seen, she watched as the two men exchangd money and then cutter handed the man a bag as her eyes got wide..

"what are you doing" Johns voice caught her off guard as she spun and looked at him, she had the deer in the headlights look and quickly the door was opening as Cutter and another man stepped out..

"well what do we have here" the taller dark skinned guy said as he looked at her and she swallowed hard..

"hey nat what are you doing up here" Cutter asked nervously..

"i think i took a wrong turn somewhere" she lied..

"do you know her" the tall man asked John..

"ive seen her around" he began coldly and natalie looked at him, she couldnt believe her ears.."and i do believe she was just leaving"

Natalie was beyond pissed as she rolled her eyes at him.."Unbelievable" she turned from them..

"are we gonna have a problem here" the tall man continued..

"No problems" Cutter interjected quickly and Natalie began to make her way towards the stairs as John caught up with her..

"what the hell are you doing up here, you shouldnt be up here" he said a bit angrily and she was more than taken back by his tone..

"I can go whereever i please, thank you very much" she snapped at him.."whats going on up here huh" she asked suspiciously..

"John?" the tall man called out his name as John turned and looked at him and then he looked back at natalie..

"Just go Natalie" John said as he walked from her and over to the man as Cutter came towards Natalie..

"hey" Cutter began nonchalantly..

"what did you give that guy" she said as his eyes got wide..

"what? Nothing... Now would be a good time to go Natalie" Cutter said seriously but natalie was more interested on John who was talking to that guy and they kept looking at her..

"Im not stupid you know" she began as Cutter took her by the arm..

"and you really need to go, trust me Natalie" he said seriously...

"trust you? Let go of me" she snapped as she yanked her arm back..She watched as a brunette walked over to John and he whispered something in her ear and then she was putting her hand on his chest seductively, natalie couldnt believe what she was seeing, she was beyong hurt and she spun, nearly knocking over Cutter as she went down the stairs, John really had some freaking nerve she thought to herself, what a joke he was..

"well dont be rude John, she is yours for the night" Vincent said with a grin as John looked at the brunette by his side and then he looked at the stairs.."is there a problem?" he asked suspiciously..

"No not at all" John said quickly as he grabbed the girls hand and led her into a room, closing the door behind him..

Natalie made her way to the bar, she definitely needed something stronger to drink, she had no idea what was going on up stairs but it definitely wasnt legal and she was gonna get to the bottom it, she ordered herself a shot as she waited for it..

"hey, small world" Brody said as he came up to her and she turned and looked at him in shock..

"hey, i didnt expect to see you here" she said in surprise..

"yeah i know i dont usually go to these types of places" he said a bit nervously..

"yeah me either" she said as she picked up her shot and drank it fast...Her mind was still on what she had just witnessed up stairs.."have you gotten alot of complaints about this place" she asked him as he looked at her puzzled..

"complaints? About what" he asked with confusion..

"Nothing, never mind" she said as her eyes locked in on the stairs again and she saw John with that brown haired chick and that tall man, apparently it wasnt lost on Brody either..

"Oh now this is interesting" brody said as Natalie looked at him..

"what...what is it" she asked..

"You see those guys, the tall one is Vincent, he just got out of statesville, i wonder what he is doing here" he said as Natalie's eyes got wide..

"what was he in for" she asked as she watched all three of them head for the exit..

"drug trafficing" he said as he stared at them..Natalie felt her stomach turn into knots, why the hell would John be hanging around that guy, then the idea hit her, the only reason he would be hanging out with him is if he was somewhat involved.."Bo's not gonna be happy about this"

"do you think he is back to dealing" Natalie asked..

"I dunno, but that guy that is with him has a rap sheet a mile long, and if he is in town it can only mean one thing" Brody said as Natalie's eyes got wide..

"that guy? The one with the long hair" she said as she looked at Brody..

"Yep, his name is John and he is bad news" Brody said as he leaned across the bar and ordered a drink, natalie couldnt believe what she was hearing, did Gigi and Steele even know?.."we have been tracking him for awhile, i didnt know he was back in town" he continued..

"hey brody, glad to see you have joined the living" Gigi said as she came over to them..

"ready for another tat" Steele interjected..

"Oh i dont know, this one hurt like a bitch" Brody laughed..

"Big baby" Gigi laughed.."come on Nat, lets go dance" Gigi said as she grabbed Natalies hand and dragged her to the dance floor, Natalie was half tempted to say something to her about John but she thought against it, she would find out what he was up to, that much she knew for sure..

After alot of dancing and many more drinks Natalie was stepping away from the dance floor as Steele went and joined a nonstop Gigi, Natalie didnt know where she found all the energy, she was exhausted and she headed to the bar to get a bottle of water but she was reminded yet again of something that had happened earlier as she saw John emerge again and this time he was heading towards a back hallway and she couldnt help herself as she put down her water and headed towards the hall, what the hell was he doing now?

Natalie made her way down the hall and he was no where but a back door was slightly open as she walked over to it, she heard voices outside and she crept closer to block out the sound of the club..

"the shipment will be here by the end of the week" John began as Natalie listened undetected.."yes im sure, all of it, trust me i know what i am doing" he continued as she stepped a bit closer..His voice began to get drowned out by the sound of the Dj and she crept even closer but all she could hear was his muffled voice..

"what exactlly are you doing" she heard a voice say behind her as she jumped and spun around only to face the man from before, the tall one John had been interacting with early..

"I um...I was" she began to ramble as the door opened and John stood there as the man looked at him and then her..

"some one want to explain to me what the hell is going on" the man said with an edge to his voice as John looked at Natalie and then back at Vincent..

"whats going on? What are you doing here" John said coldly to her as she blinked in shock at him..

"so you didnt know this woman was following you around, i find that hard to believe" Vincent said suspiciously..

"No i didnt" John began.."listen lady we had fun ok, but that was it, stop stalking me, its pretty pathetic" John began with a shake of his head..

"stalking you? What the hell are you talking about" Natalie said in shock, she couldnt believe this..

"Im sorry, you know some of the girls you give it to them once and they wont stop hounding you" John said sarcastically to Vincent and then he looked at a shocked Natalie.."If i didnt make myself clear before, i will now,..leave me alone" he walked past her as Vincent looked at him..

"You know thats a bit harsh" Vincent said in surprise..

"trust me, she aint all that, come on lets go before i lose my appetite" John said as he began to walk and Vincent looked at her and then began following John as Natalie stood there completely and totally in shock, she didnt know if she wanted to cry or scream..

Vincent glanced back at her as they walked.."she seems familiar that girl"

"i doubt it, she is no one" John tried to get his attention off of Natalie as Vincent looked back at him..

"Oh well, anyway we have alot to plan, this week is a very big week my friend" Vincent smiled as he patted Johns back..

"Im looking forward to it" John nodded his head as they kept walking..

Natalie made her way to the bar, she damn near bumped Brody over as she did so.."Hey you ok?" he asked as she tried to keep her emotions at bay..

"Yeah i just... im looking for Gigi, i need to go" she said almost frantically, she needed to get out of there right now..

"are you sure your ok?" he asked and she took a deep breath..

"Im just... im tired" she said quickly..

"Well I uh,...I could bring you home, my car is right outside" he began as Natalie looked around the club and then back at him, it would be a hell of alot easier to just leave with him then to try and find Gigi is the mass of people..

"yeah if you dont mine, i will just send her a text" she said as he lead them to the door..

"Im looking forward to being able to work with you" brody said as they got outside..

"yeah me to" she said quickly as she sent out a text to gigi, telling her she was tired and heading home, they got to Brodys car as he opened the door and she quickly got in as they left..

Natalie was home for hours by herself, Gigi had texted her back and was relieved to see that Brody took her home, Natalie had reassured her that everything was fine and that she was just tired and going to sleep but sleep was far from anything she was going to get.

Brody had dropped her off as natalie went to her room, pacing the floor for what seemed like hours as she tried to put the pieces of what had happened together. She was livid at John, livid at the entire situation..So it wasnt a surprise when she heard a knock on her door she almost knew for certain who it was..

"Natalie can i come in" John said from the other side of the door and she just ignored him as she glared at it.."Im gonna come in" he said as the door began to open..

"what the hell do you want" she snapped at him as he stepped into the room..

"Listen i need to explain" he began..

"you know what, you dont" she snapped at him.."does your brother even know the shady dealings your up to" he looked at her with a blank stare.."Oh thats just perfect, so you stay in his home while you take care of your illegal dealings" she snapped again, she was so mad..

"what i do is none of your business" he snapped as he stepped closer to her and she actually was a bit shocked by his words, she had assumed he would of tried to play nice, tried to calm her down but no, he didnt do that at all..

"Umm with my uncle as police commissioner i believe it is" she said bitterly as he stood in front of her..

"and your going to keep your mouth shut" he said warningly..

"or what? Your going to shut it for me" she said sarcastically..

"you have no idea who you are messing with" he looked dead serious and it made her stomach turn..

"Oh i have an idea, selling drugs is that it" she snapped and just as quick he grabbed her arms and yanked her close..

"this isnt a game natalie and if you value your life and those around you then you will never say those words again, to anyone" his threat chilled her to the bone as she stood there.."dont test me cause i win, every time" he said as he backed up from her now and she honestly didnt know who the hell this man was in front of her and she was stunned speechless.."i mean it natalie, not a word" he went back to the door as she stood there with her mouth agape and then he was turning and leaving..

He closed her door and leaned against it for a moment, it had to be done, he was too close to have it all screwed up now and with that he left..


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

John left the apartment, he knew he wouldnt be able to stay there for the remainder of his trip, it was becoming too complicated and he hated complications. Why did she had to but her nose in and more importantly why couldnt he just walk away from her?

In his field of business John never settled down with anyone, some say it wasnt in his nature and the fact of the matter was that he was scared to death of being close to anyone, it never turned out good in the end, he had seen it time and time again with his friends, hell he had even watched it with his own parents, relationships were a mean to getting hurt and he already had enough hurt in his life..

John lived his life the way he always had, he liked fast cars, fast women, hell he never made it to a second date, there was too much involved, to much that had to be sacrificed and now natalie was ruining their good thing, why couldnt she just fuck him and be done like everyone else, why did she have to look at him in a way that demanded more..

He wasnt that guy, he was never that guy and he never would be..He stared at the ceiling of the ratty motel that he had rented a room at, this is where he was comfortable, living on the road, not staying in one place long enough to care about anything and yet here he was laying in bed thinking of red hair and hurt blue eyes..Hurt that he had caused and for the first time in his life that bothered him, it bothered him alot..

Natalie barely slept that night and when she got up for coffee she had assumed she would see him sleeping on the couch but much to her surprise he wasnt and as she got in the kitchen she saw Gigi there with Steele..

"hey goodmorning sunshine" Gigi smiled at her..

"coffee" Natalie said as she walked over to the pot and Steele laughed..

"you know you two should of been related" he laughed as he sipped his coffee..

"yeah im not too much of a morning person" Natalie said quickly as she poured a cup and then took a big sip of it..

"who is,.. really" Gigi laughed..

"My brother is" Steele grinned..

"oh yeah i saw he was out already" natalie said dryly..

"not just out, he's gone for now" Steele said as he stood, natalie blinked in shock.."im gonna make a phone call" he said to Gigi and then kissed her head before he left the room..

"Oh i so dont want to work today" Gigi sighed as she looked at Natalie.."but today is your big day"

"yeah" Natalie said as she sipped her coffee again.."so um what did he mean by gone, like gone gone" she tried to be nonchalant..

"i told you he never stays around for long" Gigi shrugged her shoulders..

"Im sure that annoys Steele, having his brother come and go all the time" Natalie began, she couldnt belive he had left, actually she was a bit pissed that he did but also a little upset..

"he is use to it by now" Gigi began.."but enough about him, so tell me are you anxious about today"

"Im just hoping it goes well" Natalie said honestly..

"Im sure it will go great" Gigi smiled.."But i hope this doesnt mean your gonna be leaving soon and finding your own place" she said with a hint of sadness in her voice..

"I wouldnt want to overstay my welcome" natalie said with a forced smile..

"You could never do that plus i love having you here" gigi smiled and then reached over and took natalies hand.."I meant what i said, you can stay as long as you like but preferrably longer"

"alright, we'll see" Natalie squeezed her hand..

Being back in the police station gave natalie a sense of home and accomplishment, this is where she was born to be and even for just a little bit she had forgotten the misery of the night before..

After a quick tour from her Uncle Bo she headed to the forensic lab where she met two of her other co-workers, one was Tyler a fellow classmate of hers and Maggie a resident forensic tech, both were very warming and welcoming to her and soon it was as if she had never left lanview as she got straight to business..

It didnt take long to see the budding relationship building between her two coworkers, their flirty smiles to one another and the laughing at not so funny jokes, she could see love building and as much as she wanted to be happy for the future they may have it only reminded her of the one she currently had and that was depressing to say the least..

By the time lunch came around she was so heavy into work that she hadnt noticed that Brody had entered the room, it wasnt until he cleared his throat that she had looked up.."so hows the first day going" he asked..

"its going" she smiled..

"and its also time for lunch, got any plans?" he asked with a smile..

"actually i dont, wanna grab a burger" she asked..

"yeah, of course" he said with surprise..

"cool let me grab my bag" she said and then off they went.

Hanging out with Brody was overall a nice experience, he had always been a good guy and even though she didnt see him in a romatic light, well it was nice to just have someone to kick back with and relax and Brody was just that guy. He talked about what he had been up to the last few years and natalie was surprised to find out that he had a daughter, nearly two years old..

She stared at the picture on his phone of the small blonde haired girl.."she is beautiful" she said honestly..

"she is the best thing that has ever happened to me" he said proudly..

"Im sorry it didnt work out with you and her mother" Natalie said honestly..

"Yeah me too" Brody said softly.."but we have Jamie, and she is all that matters" he smiled.."do you want to have kids?" he asked and Natalie swallowed uncomfortably.."I mean you dont have to answer if you dont want" he said quickly..

"No its fine, i mean, one day i suppose" she said quietly as she looked down at her plate of food..

"im sorry things didnt work out for you and Cris" Brody finally said after a few long seconds of quietness..

"You know its fine, im glad i found out now and not after we got married" she said honestly...

"yeah that would of been hard" he nodded his head..

"enough about that though, what is in the past is in the past" she said as she ate a french fry..

"I agree with you on that" he grinned as he finished off his burger..

"so how you are you liking the life of a police officer" she asked..

"oh you know, it aint all its cracked up to be, hell its boring half of the time, alot of paperwork" he said with a shrug of his shoulders..

"Oh come on you said the other day that you have been tracking that guy from the club" she tried to be nonchalant as she sipped her drink..

"Oh that, thats just...i mean im not personally tracking him" he said with more than a bit of embarassment..

"Oh...so then how did you hear about it" she asked with curiosity, she was gonna get to the bottom of what John was doing..

"I shouldnt of even said anything" he said quickly..

"Oh come on, were friends and honestly who am i going to tell" she said with a roll of her eyes..

"Ok but you cant say anything" he said as he leaned over the table some and looked around to make sure no one was within listening distance, she leaned in too.."so i sort of over heard your uncle talking to one of the detectives on the case, i think they are planning a drug bust or something" he said quietly..

"Really, and in lanview, thats surprising" Natalie tried not to act so shocked..

"Like i said just dont say anything, i really need to keep my job" he said nervously..

"My lips are sealed" Natalie smiled.."what do you say we head back" she began to get up and so did he, they quickly paid and made their way back to the station and Natalie was on the hunt for whoever was leading that case, one way or another she was getting some answers..

Natalie got back to work and back to her work station, she took the opportunity to ask Maggie a little bit about who the lead detective was.."You know it is really great having you work here Natalie" Maggie said with a smile..

"I have to say i am really glad that i came back" Natalie began.."You know i was kind of thinking about going back to school, maybe head to the police academy"

"really?" Maggie said in shock..

"yeah i just, i dont know, it was an idea, i wonder who i could talk to here, you know someone who really knows the ropes" natalie began..

"Your uncle is the police commish, you can get all the answers you need from him" maggie laughed..

"yeah but its biased, i was just thinking someone else, maybe like the lead detective" she began as Maggie blinked in shock..

"Oh you mean Brent? He's been around forever" Maggie began..

"Really,...do you think he would talk to me" Natalie said nonchalantly..

"I dont know, i heard he is a bit of a hard ass" Maggie smirked.."Honestly your probably better off asking your uncle"

"yeah your right, i will probably do that" natalie said with a smile.."Im gonna grab a drink, do you want one?" Natalie made her way to the door..

"No im good" Maggie said as natalie left the room and went in search of this supposed guy Brent, hard ass or not, she was going to get answers..

Natalie made her way around the station acting as if she was just taking in the sights and sounds of it all, her eyes were glued to every door and she stopped when she saw a sign for Brent Foster, lead detective and she nervously looked around..

His loud commanding voice took her by surprise as she went to knock.."does this sound like i am kidding, i said i wanted that report an hour ago!" he barked loudly and natalie backed up from the door as it began to open and within seconds a teary eyed rookie came running out of the room and Natalie was starting to second guess herself.."Oh thats great, cant even close the damn door!' he yelled and natalie thought that maybe now wasnt the right time to try and get answers and as she began to back up he got to the door and stopped before he closed it.."Can i help you with something" he snapped at her, his appearance took her off guard, for a moment she had the image of the great OZ behind his powerful wall, cause the man with the loud booming voice that apparently made some young rookie cry was only about five four, with a military crew cut and he looked to be maybe a buck twenty wet, she had to fight the urge to laugh, this was the lead detective.."do you not understand the words coming out of my mouth" he said again as he stood there and Natalie straightened herself up..

"Hi, um...Im Natalie" she began and he rolled his eyes at her..

"i know who you are Buchanan, what do you want"he snapped at her and she swallowed hard, damn he was a bit intimidating even if she could most likely kick his ass.."i dont have all day" he tapped his foot..

"I wasnt properly introduced and i wanted to come by and see the detective i have heard so many wonderful things about" she said quickly and his face changed slightly, almost to that of shock and she knew she had him, hook line and sinker..

"Oh" he said as he rubbed the prickly hair on his head..

"But if your too busy" she began to turn and he opened the door more..

"too busy, of course not, by all means come inside" he said with a grin and she smiled back as she walked in and he closed the door.."so all good things i do hope" he said as he walked over to his desk..

"I heard your one of the best detectives this town has and i have to say it is truly an honor" she began as he took a seat and gestured for her to do the same..

"well i cant say i am shocked, i was named detective of the year" he grinned widely..

"Oh that must be so rewarding for you, im sure the Mrs was very proud" she smiled sweetly..

"Oh im not... i mean...currently not in a relationship" he shifted in his seat some..

"oh well that is surprising, i mean someone so talented and handsome" she began with a smile as he blushed some.."Im sorry that was probably out of line" she looked down at her hands..

"No, please continue, natalie is it?" he smiled and she looked up..

"yes , Natalie" she grinned, this was going to be way easier then she imagined..

Talking to brent she realized pretty quick that the man loved himself, alot and he loved when people talked about him, and thats exactlly what she did but he still wasnt giving anything away that she needed, what she wanted was that file on his desk marked top secret but the man wouldnt shut up, i mean she had heard stories of his youth and how he was in the top of his class at the academy, the man definitely had little man syndrome and she knew she was gonna have to up the ante if she was going to get what she wanted and so she did the only thing she could think of, she accidently dropped her drink, making it land precisely in his lap as he jumped up from his seat..

"Oh my gosh i am so sorry" she said with wide eyes..

"No no its not your fault, i should of seen the cup falling" he began as he made his way to the door.."Im just gonna be a minute" he said as he quickly went in search of a bathroom and she waited til he was out of view and she quickly grabbed the file and began flipping through pages..

It was just a bunch of writing, alot to be exact and she didnt have time to sit and read it all, he would be back soon and so she kept flipping through until she saw a picture, one that was taken of the man she had seen at the club, the one Brody had said just got out of jail, his name was Vincent and Brody was right, they had been keeping a watchful eye on him but no mention of John which was odd to say the least, she quickly saw an address and jotted down the information..

"what are you doing" she heard brents voice as she jumped and spun around...he stood there with a few paper towels in his hand...

"I um, i was trying to clean off your desk, it seems the drink got on there" she began nervously..

"Oh crap, i hope not on my files" he began as he came over and she quickly closed the file up..

"I wiped off as much as i could" she backed up some..

"well thank you for that, i couldnt afford to have my stuff destroyed" he said as he got over by her.."Now, where were we" he grinned as he looked at her..And she knew that look all to well, he wanted to kiss her and she would be damned if she did that..

"Oh, will you look at the time, i really should go" she began to back up..

"maybe i can see you again, soon?" he had hope in his eyes..

"yeah i mean...sure...i will be in touch ok" she smiled as she got to the door..

"we could do dinner" he smiled some..

"Oh...dinner...yeah...um...let me get back to you on that ok" she said as she opened the door and backed out into the hallway..

"You'll call then?" he asked with wide eyes..

"sure...i will do that" she said as she backed up more until she was hitting into something hard and she jumped and spun around to see a wide eyed Brody standing there with a very suspicious look on his face..

"natalie?" he said with a raised eyebrow..

"hey ...dont have time to talk, gotta get back to work" she said as she quickly moved past him and he stood there just staring as she left.

"she is one hell of a woman" brent said as he came over, grinning wide and then he looked at Brody.."dont you have something to do Officer!" he barked at him and then quickly slammed his door as Brody walked away, Natalie was up to something, that much he knew..

Natalie worked the rest of her day without trying to think of the address burning in her pocket but as soon as her day was over she was out of there, driving with the address in hand she was gonna do a little investigating herself..

John sat in the plush living room of Vincents lake estate, the man had gotten smarter since being in prison and it was making Johns job alot harder to prove, all he needed was the drugs either in Vincents hand or a money exchange for them but that was proving to be more difficult, it seems as though Vincent was doing all he could to stay clean, even going as far as having a lowly club owner to do his dirty work and it would be all to easy for john to bust Cutter but in doing so it would screw up his plan with Vincent. A shipment was coming in, a large one and that is what John needed to send Vincent away for a very long time..

But he couldnt even fully concentrate on the job at hand because of a certain redhead, why was he so affected by her, it irritated him more than anything..

"whats on your mind John" Vincent asked, stirring John from his thoughts..

"Nothing just waiting to take my long awaited vacation to the islands" John said with a smile..

"ah yes, but there is alot more work to be done before we start celebrating" Vincent grinned.."I need to know that everything is going to go smoothly"

"thats the only way i know" John said as he sipped his drink..

"good cause you came highly recommended" Vincent grinned as he sat back on the couch and sipped his drink.."but you know i do have one small favor to ask of you" he grinned and John watched as he pulled a gun out from his pants leg.."Im thinking cutter is going to be a problem and i dont like problems" he smiled..

"he's just a small time crook, honestly i wouldnt waste your time worrying" John began..

"yeah well see, the thing is i do worry" Vincent stood now as he held the gun.."get rid of him" he held the gun out to John who just looked at it..

"dont you think that will just cause attention from the wrong people" John said as he stood now and looked at the gun then at Vincent..

"not if he isnt found" he smiled as he continued to hold the gun.."lets just say you owe me, i mean unless there is a reason why you wont do this" Vincent said suspicously..

"Im not saying that" John said as he grabbed the gun.."im just saying that the guy has a club, one that is a very good cover"

"and it will stay that way John, i was always a fan of the club scene" Vincent smirked..

John looked at the gun in his hand but before he could say another word one of Vincents men was rushing in, and the sound of a females voice caught Johns attention cause it wasnt just any females voice but a familiar one..

"I wasnt doing anything wrong" Natalie said as the guy kept a strong hand on her arm, she should of thought this out better, she wasnt expecting the entire place to be under survalliance and now she was in deep shit..

"Boss i found her snooping around outside" the guy said as he shoved natalie at Vincent and Johns eyes got wide as she looked at him in shock..

"well well well, what do we have here" Vincent said with a smile as Natalie looked at him and then at John, yep this definitely could of gone alot better then this.."well it seems as though your little stalker cant take no for an answer" Vincent said with a raised eyebrow..

"I wasnt stalking , i was just taking a walk" Natalie began to ramble as she stood there..

"i think you should just give your girl here what she wants" Vincent said towards John..

"listen i already told you, leave me the hell alone" John snapped at her and she saw something behind his eyes, it was fear, but of what, it made her stomach tighten..

"oh give the little lady a break, i mean she did come all the way here" Vincent smiled big.."i give you an A+ for perserverance" Vincent grinned.."go ahead John, give the little lady what she came for" Vincent said with a wicked smile..

"Listen this is just going to make it worse, i say we just send her on her way" John began..

"Like hell i will, either you give it to her or i will let my boys take turns" Vincent snapped and natalie's eyes got wide, she was quickly figuring out what Vincent was talking about and now she really regretted her decision to snoop..

"hey listen, you know what, i learned my lesson" she said quickly as Vincent looked at her.."things got out of hand" she began nervously..

"you know i dont like to be made a fool of" Vincent said warningly as he looked at her..

"I know and i apologize, no harm done" she swallowed hard..

"enough!" Vincent yelled and she backed up some as he looked at John.."Im growing really bored, now either you do as i say or my boys will be more than happy to" he said warningly to John..

"Fine" John said through gritted teeth as he roughly grabbed natalie's hand..."show me a room" he said with annoyance..

"Listen i dont know why we cant just talk this thing out ok" she began as she tried to yank her hand back from John..

"stop fidgeting" John snapped at her and she shut up quick.."just show me to a room"

"why go through all of that trouble when were in a room that is quite big enough" Vincent smiled as natalie gasped, she hadnt seen this coming..

"Your joking right" John said with a laugh but Vincent wasnt laughing.."You want me to,...right here?"

"do i have to spell it out, do it, now before i get bored" Vincent yelled..

"Ok listen im sorry, i shouldnt of came over here ok" Natalie began to plead..

"Oh you wanted attention sweetheart and your going to get it" Vincent smiled and then he sat on the couch as he ushered his men into the room and they all began to take a seat.."come on John, give the bitch the attention she craves" he grinned as John looked at natalie, his stare was icy cold and it made her stomach turn into knots..

"hey if your not willing i sure as hell am" one of the guys yelled and then John was yanking her close as he stared at her and without another word he spun her around, bending her over a table as she gasped in shock, she couldnt believe this was happening, this had to be a nightmare..


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Natalie was bent over the table as the men in the room began to hoot and hollar at her, she felt the warm sting of tears hit her cheeks, what had she done? John leaned over her roughly and with his mouth to her ear he whispered.."i told you to stay away, you should of listened to me Natalie"

"enough with the sweet talk, lets get this done, i have shit to do" Vincent yelled out and then John was leaning up as he took a deep breath..

"tear off her shirt" one of the guys yelled..

"show that bitch who is boss" another one laughed..

"Your letting me down John" Vincent said warningly and the next thing Natalie felt was her shirt being torn from her as a strangled cry left her mouth..

"Please ok...please dont, im sorry" she said with tears..

"Oh thats so sweet" Vincent laughed.."Im sure he can give you something to really cry about darling" he continued to laugh and then she felt her bra being pulled off as she laid face down on the table, tears pooling at her face..

John yanked down her jeans as she gasped out, he hated doing this to her, he hated himself for doing it but it would be much better then Vincents boys taking turns with her and he knew they would if he didnt comply..

"Please John, dont" he heard her cries and he had to block them out otherwise a worse fate was in store for her and he knew that. The guys in the back were hollaring and carrying on as she stood there with her pants around her ankles with nothing but her panties on..He quickly yanked those down too as a round of cheers continued..

"dont be greedy man, show us her tits" one of the guys yelled..

" come on John, let the boys have a peek, hell the bitch will probably like it anyway" Vincent laughed as John inhaled deep and then yanked her up and spun her around as she used her hands to cover herself as tears streaked down her face, there had to be atleast ten guys in the room all gawking at her..

"woo hoo" the guys began to cheer as John looked at her as she cried...

"alright, alright, lets finish this up" Vincent yelled through the cheering but the moment was stopped abruptly by a popping noise that seemed to get louder and it took John and the rest of the men in the room a moment to realize what it was, it was gunshots outside and the men began to scatter with guns in hand as John pushed natalie onto the ground..

"get dressed and stay low" he said to her as he pulled out his gun as shots were heard all around them..

"what the hell is this!" Vincent yelled as he ducked behind one of the chairs as he held a gun in his hand..

"Its the cops man, they are everywhere" one of the guys yelled as he looked at Vincent..

"get me the hell out of here, Now" Vincent ordered as Natalie scrambled into a corner and shoved her jeans back on but her shirt was beyond saving at this point, she was literally shaking and hysterical as bullets wizzed by her head..

John watched as Vincent and one of his men began running to a basement door.."John come on!" vincent yelled as he looked at Natalie.."leave the bitch there, lets go!" Vincent yelled again and with a final look at natalie and the sound of the cops bardging in the front door John took off..

It was merely seconds before the place was completely ambushed and natalie held her tattered shirt to her chest as she huddled in the corner.."all clear" she heard someone yell and then the bright light of a flash light was in her face as she covered it..

"natalie? Holy shit Natalie" she heard Brodys voice as he ran over.."we need a medic, Now" Brody yelled as he knelt down to a visibily upset natalie.."are you hurt?" he asked as she shook her head no and she continued to cry.."what are you doing here Natalie" he said more as an observation then anything else and soon the medics were rushing in and over to her..

Hours later natalie sat at the hospital trying to go over everything in her head, she should of never gone there, she was horrified by what had happened and what could of been an even worse situation. Matters were made worse by her parents being there and her father was absolutely livid and demanding answers from everyone and anyone..

Natalie couldnt help but feel like she was missing something here though, especially concerning John, she had seen his face and he had looked scared for her, not like the hardened criminal they were all calling him..

"Natalie i came as soon as i heard" Gigi said as she rushed into the room and over to natalies bed.."are you ok" she looked her friend over..natalie just nodded her head as she watched Steele come in, within seconds her father was charging in from the hallway where he had been on the phone yelling at someone..

"You, how dare you come by here" her father began to yell at Steele.."you knew what your brother was capable of"

"with all due respect sir" steele began..

"Oh stop the bullshit, your just as much to blame as that criminal brother of yours!" Clint yelled..

"Dad just stop" natalie finally yelled out, making everyone look at her.."Just stop ok, Steele didnt do anything wrong"

"Your in no shape to be speaking for them Natalie, both of them, nothing but a bunch of freaks" Clint yelled..

" Now that is enough" Natalies mom said as she came in the room and Clint looked at her.."this is a hospital Clint not some reality talk show"

"Our daughter could of been killed because of" Clint went to yell and Vicki stood in front of him..

"I said thats enough" she said sternly and Natalie had never seen her mother stand up to her dad like that before, it was actually pretty nice..

Clints phone began to ring and he looked at it and then grumbled something as he walked back out into the hall and continued his yelling out there..

"Your father is just upset" Vicki said as she walked over to natalie and Gigi got up as Steele came over to her and put his arm around her..

"when can i get out of here" natalie said quickly, she just wanted to get the hell out of this hospital and try and figure out what the hell was going on..

"the doctor is working on your discharge papers as we speak" Vicki brushed a piece of her hair back..

"Natalie were um, were gonna wait in the hall" Gigi said a bit uncomfortably as Natalie looked at them and then headed out of the room..

"Mom they are not to blame" Natalie began as she looked at her mother..

"i know, your father just gets worked up, you know how he is" she said softly..

"I just want to go home" natalie began but her mother had that look on her face, the look that said that she was holding something back.."whats wrong?" Natalie asked nervously..

"Nothing its just,... come home with us natalie, let me take care of you until all of this blows over" she began as Natalies eyes got wide..

"Mom im not going back to lanfair" natalie said quickly..

"sweetheart this has been really traumatic for you, i think it would be good if" Vicki began softly..

"Mom im fine, and i want to go home" natalie continued but the tv across the room that was muted caught her attention cause there on the screen she saw her face, back in that house, crouched in the corner, shaking and vulnerable.."Oh my god" Natalie gasped as she covered her mouth and her mother immediately saw the tv and went to turn it off.."no dont..." natalie said loud as her mother frantically searched for a remote control..

"natalie you dont need to see that" her mother said with worry in her eyes..

"im on the news, who the hell took that picture" Natalie began to get frantic as Vicki ran over to her..

"Your father is trying to figure that out now sweetheart, it'll be ok" Vicki tried to comfort her but Natalie was absolutely freaking out, she was on tv, in the headlines!

The next headline she saw made her stomach turn as she read in big writing , Lanviews own Buchanan Heiress raped and broken, story at nine.."Oh my god" Natalie tried to scramble to her feet as her mother began to call for help, her father rushed into the room and immediately saw the tv and shut it off.."i cant believe this" she said in shock as tears began to stream down her face..

"were gonna get the son of a bitch who did this to you" her father yelled..

"but i wasnt,...it wasnt" she began to cry as her mother threw her arms around her..

"its ok sweetheart, were gonna get through this together, i swear" she said as Natalie cried, she couldnt believe this was happening, not only did she have to deal with everything that had happened but now everyone thought of her as a rape victim and it was plastered on the news, she honestly thought she would be sick..

John sat in the old wooden chair that was in the secluded bunker under ground, Vincent had thought of everything and by the looks of the arsenal down there he had prepared himself for war as well..

Only a few of them had gotten out of the house and to say vincent was pissed would of been an understatement..He could be heard yelling through the thick concrete walls, if there was one thing Vincent hated more than anything it was a snitch and he was sure he had one among him, but thankfully he hadnt thought to think of John, he had come with too many recommendations from too many people..

The door swung open as Vincent came storming in.."god damn rats, you can never trust anyone around you, do you hear me John, no one" he yelled as he grabbed a bottle of water and began drinking it..

"maybe we should just make a change in plans" John began as Vincent looked at him..

"a change in plans? Are you out of your mind" he yelled as he tossed the bottle of water across the room and John sat unaffected.."you know what i think, i think we need to start weeding out the weak links" Vincent said as he pulled out a gun and twirled it in his fingers, John knew that he was definitely feeling the pressure and that was never a good thing.."so no im not changing plans, this is my god damn town, Mine" he yelled as one of his men named Bruce came bardging in and was greeted with a gun in the face..

"woo...Boss.." Bruce said as he backed up with his hands up..

"do you really think its a good idea to come bardging in like that" Vincent sneared at him..

"its just... i... i saw something on the internet" Bruce began with a shaky voice as Vincent stood there holding a gun on him..

"Oh so now your just surfing the net" Vincent yelled as he cocked his gun back and Bruce jumped slightly..

"Sir...i think you would want to see this" he said as he looked inbetween John and Vincent.."the girl...the one that was here earlier" he began to ramble..

"spit it out already" Vincent yelled and Now John stood as Vincent looked at him.."what about the girl" he said to Bruce but he kept his eye on John..

"its saying she was a heiress" Bruce began as Vincent looked at him quick..."A buchanan, she was a Buchanan" Bruce said as he shook some more..

"a Buchanan?" Vincent began as his blood started to boil...

"that is absurb, im sure Bruce doesnt know what the hell he is talking about" John said quickly as Vincent looked at him..

"Let me see this information" Vincent said to Bruce and then he looked at John.."I told you that girl seemed familiar" he said through gritted teeth..

"I can assure you she aint no heiress" John began as his mind began to spin, he never had asked her last name, he never had cared enough to know but she was living with Gigi, why the hell would a Buchanan Heiress be living with Gigi? It didnt make sense...

"here" Bruce said with shaky hands as he handed over his cell phone and Vincent looked at it as his eyes got wide.."i told you, she is...she's a Buchanan" bruce began to say as a shot went off and bruce fell to the ground as John stared at Vincent who now aimed the gun a him..

"you want to explain to me what the hell this is about" Vincent yelled as he shoved the phone at John and his eyes got wide cause there it was, in big bold letters, Natalie Buchanan, he felt sick to his stomach as he stood there..

"i didnt...i swear" John began as he looked at Vincent..

"You stupid fucking bastard" Vincent yelled as he waved the gun at John..."of all the girls in lanview you have to fuck the heiress!" he yelled as he stepped closer and then aimed the gun at Johns face.."give me one good reason why i dont plaster your brains onto the wall" he snapped at him..

John backed up some.."I didnt know" he began..

"well then we have a problem, a very big problem" Vincent said as he looked at John..

Natalie couldnt believe that she had agreed to go back to her parents place, not that she was given much of a choice and the fact that the press was already outside of the hospital trying to hound her, honestly she just wanted to disappear, this was worse then she imagined, not only was she having to deal with everything but now the entire world knew too!

Thankfully her parents had finally left her alone to rest as she stared at the ceiling of her old bedroom, they had kept it the same way she had left it back when she had moved out all those years ago..

She moved slowly over to the tv in her room and she turned it on, flipping through the channels she stopped when she saw her face on the screen and then the tears started again...

Vincent was rambling on and on like a crazy man as John stood there and just listened, he wasnt making any sense, all he kept on saying was that if he would of known he would of held onto the girl, he could of made so much money off of her, it would of made the shipment look like small pickings compared to what the Buchanans could give him, he really was losing touch with reality..

"we need to just focus on whats important" John began as Vincent looked at him..

"do you even understand how much the Buchanans are worth, i could of gotten anything i wanted" Vincent continued..

"The girl was touble, you saw that" John began..

"Bullshit, she was easy money" Vincent yelled as he rushed up to John.."and i dont like missing out on easy money" he held the gun under Johns chin...

"we have a shipment coming, its a half a million easy" John began...

"Get the girl" Vincent said as he stared at John...

"what? Do you hear yourself, she is more trouble then she is worth" John continued...

"I said get the god damn girl and let me worry about the trouble" Vincent yelled..."Unless you have fallen for the girl, is that it, is it John, i saw the way you looked at her" he began...

"she's nothing" John said quickly..

"Good then it wont be a problem for you to get her" Vincent said as he shoved the gun harder under johns chin.."dont make me regret this John" he began as he glanced at the dead body of one of his men who laid on the floor and then back at John.."get the girl and bring her to me" Vincent said as he yanked the gun back and John took a deep breath..

"im a wanted man, i cant just go out there, someone will see me" John began..

"then you figure it the hell out John,...time is wasting, i want the girl and i want her now!" he yelled..

Meanwhile Gigi and Steele were back at their place, Gigi was beyond upset over everything that had happened and Steele was trying to comfort her the best he could without devulging to much information, he knew that his brother looked like a bad guy here but he knew him, and he knew that John was doing what he had to but he couldnt just tell Gigi that..

"i just cant believe that your brother is involved with those men, its digusting and what he did to natalie" Gigi said with anger as she paced the room..

"listen i know my brother" steele began..

"Did you know that he was a rapist, i mean for fucks sake we let him stay here" she yelled in anger..

"i cant do this right now" Steele said as he grabbed his coat and headed to the door..

"where are you going" Gigi called out..

"I just need... i need some time"Steele said as Gigi shook her head in anger as tears fell down her cheeks, how the hell was natalie ever going to get over this..

Steele got to his suv and jumped in, he needed a drink, hell he needed something cause right now he felt like a huge asshole and he wanted answers from John, he wanted them now and surprisingly he was gonna get them cause the next thing he felt was a gun pressed to his side..

"Just drive and dont make any sudden moves" John said as he stayed crouched down in the back of the truck and with that Steele began to drive..John stayed on the ground until they were out of the apartment parking lot and then he began to get up..

"You stupid son of a bitch, what the hell are you doing" Steele finally yelled at him..

"Im in over my head man, and i need your help" John began as Steele drove and looked back at him..

John had him drive to the ratty motel that he had stayed in just days prior, he pulled into the back and John got out as the two of them headed inside, John made his way to his room and got inside and immediately went to the fridge as Steele followed him..

"you want to tell me what the hell is going on, cause im hearing shit man" Steele said as John handed him a beer..

"i didnt rape her" John said as he took a sip, even saying those words made him sick to his stomach..John looked at Steele who was staring at him suspiciously..."i swear, i didnt" John took another sip..."but i would of if i had to" he said as he walked out of the room and Steele stood there for a minute trying to wrap his mind around that..

"what the fuck does that mean, Hey i asked you a question" Steele yelled as John stopped by the window and looked out..

"I would of" John said low..."You dont know them like i do"

"jesus John...what the fuck" Steele said as he ran a hand through his hair..

"Listen right now i just need you to take her somewhere, i dont care where, anywhere" John began almost frantically..

"Your fucking scaring the shit out of me man, cant you just arrest the son of a bitch now" Steele began as John shook his head..

"You dont understand, he would be out by tomorrow and then no one would be safe" John continued.."I have to do this my way"

"Your way? Your way almost got a girl raped and not to mention the harm you have put yourself in, just let it go John, just get out now while you can" Steele continued..

"I cant!" John yelled and then he lowered his voice.."I cant, they are coming for her, right now as we speak, you have to get to her, you need to keep her safe" John began with a pleading tone.."the shipment is coming in a day, the feds wont do anything until then" he paced the room...

"Not even if they knew a girls life was in danger" Steele said in shock..

"Not even then" John shook his head..

"this is a fucked up country we live in" Steele said as he finished off his beer..

"yeah well i just happen to work for them" John said dryly..

"i dont understand any of this John" steele said as he looked at his brother..

"I dont need you to, what i need is for you to make sure she is ok and keep it that way until you hear otherwise" John said as he finished off his beer..

"she is at her parents place, i just cant go in there and take her out" steele began..

"You'll figure out something, i know you will" John said as his phone began to ring.."I have to go"

"How the hell am i suppose to get in touch with you" Steele said as John moved over to the door..

"dont worry about that, just get her somewhere safe" John said as he stepped out of the room and Steele walked over to the door but John was aleady gone..

"shit" he said loud as he stood there, he really wasnt cut out for this shit, and with that he left..He would have to figure something out cause if what John was saying was true, well then Natalie was in alot of trouble..


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Natalie stared at the tray of food her mother had brought in, she hated being treated like a child all over again and damn it she wasnt hungry, she wanted answers and the only one who could give them to her was John and now he was god knows where and a wanted criminal..

She had sent a text to Gigi, begging her to come rescue her from her parents place and she awaited a response and yet nothing, the sound of something by her balcony caught her attention though and she quickly turned and gasped at what she saw..

John stood in front of the red haired woman as she shook her head.."You know i was wondering if i was ever going to hear from you again" she grinned with her hands on her hips..

"Yeah well remember when you said you owed me, well i came to collect" he began as she smiled..

"apparently so" she smirked...

Natalie moved closer to the balcony as Steele fell ungracefully to the floor of the room.."holy shit what the hell are you doing here steele" she said in shock..

"this place is like a damn fortress and do you know that the rose vines leading up here hurt like hell" he said as he picked a thorn off of his arm..

"I cant believe you just scaled the wall, why, how" she began and then she thought of Gigi.."Oh my god gigi put you up to this" she said as her eyes got wide..

"yeah" he said a bit nervously as he stood and dusted himself off.."wow nice digs" he said as he looked around..

"Listen i just need to get out of here, have you heard from John?" she asked as he ran a hand through his hair..

"Listen about my brother" he began..

"he didnt rape me" she said as his eyes got wide.."i dont know what is going on with him but its big"

"yeah well we dont have time for that right now" he began..

"of course not, so what is your plan to get me out of here, my parents are freaking out" she began...

"yeah i kind of got that idea at the hospital" he said with a shake of his head..

"My dad is just upset, he didnt mean those things he said" she said quickly..

"Oh im sure he did" he said with a roll of his eyes..

"My dad just over reacts, he was worried about me" she said as she looked down at her feet..

"listen what happened" he began nervously..

"i dont want to talk about that ok, i should of never showed up there" she swallowed hard..

"You showed up there? Why?" he began.."You know what you can tell me later, right now we have to go"

"its not like i can just walk out of here" she said as she looked at the door and he glanced at the balcony and then at her.."Your joking right? You want me to scale the wall?"

"got any better ideas?" he raised an eyebrow..

John stared at Clare, he was shocked to say but she really did look just like Natalie.."do you really think this is going to work?" she asked as she fidgeted with her clothes..

"well were about to find out" he said honestly..

"You know your gonna have to sit in front of the board once all of this is done, you may lose your ranking" she said as she looked at him.."are you sure you want to do this"

"I have no other choice, i cant wait for them to make a move" he said as he looked at the gun in his hand and then he shoved it in the back of his pants.."Just do what we talked about"

"yes sir" she rolled her eyes.."You know you may owe me after we are done here"

"and we will figure that out later, right now i need you to play the part and wait for my cue" he said seriously..

"alright lets do this" she said as they began to walk..

Natalie hung off the side of lanfair.."I really cant believe i let you talk me into this" she said as she looked down as she held onto the drain pipe..

"just jump, its not that far" he said as she looked down at him...

"yeah easy for you to say" she said as she held on for dear life..

" just jump already" he said impatiently..

"Ok ok" she said as she looked back down and then as she closed her eyes she jumped and she waited to hit the hard ground but instead a strong pair of arms caught her..

"You can open your eyes now" he laughed and she did just that only to see that Steele had caught her..

"holy shit, what are you like the incredible hulk" she laughed some as he put her down on her feet..

"You know i have been called many things but that is a first" he grinned..

"so now where" she asked as she looked around, that definitely had been a first for her, not even when she was younger had she ever scaled the wall, hell it wasnt half bad..

"My car is over there" he pointed..

"alright, lets do this" Natalie said as they took off running and dodging behind things, it was actually quite fun to be doing this, reckless even..

John held onto Clare's arm as he stood in front of Vincent, who seemed , well shocked.."I have to say John i didnt think you could pull it off" he smirked..

"just let me go ok" Clare said as she tried to fight against John..

"i wasnt expecting you to mark up her face so much though" Vincent said as he touched her cheek and she spit at him and he stepped back..

"she was a little fiesty" John said as he looked at Vincent..

"In deed she is" Vincent said as he wiped his face.."put her in the other room while i figure out what i want to do with her"

"I was kind of hoping we could just get this done and over with, i had a hell of a time getting her here" John began..

"My father wont give you shit, you son of a bitch" she yelled at him..

Vincent looked at her and then drew out his gun and pointed it at her.."Your father will give me whatever i ask for otherwise it wont just be your pretty face that is messed up"

"lets just do this" John said impatiently..

"you know, your right" Vincent said as he smiled and then put the gun on John.."it would seem that after everything you have done i have figured out that your more of a liability then anything else" Vincent grinned..

"what the fuck Vincent, i thought we were in this together" John began..

"yeah well you know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen, right" he grinned and then a shot rang off as John flew back onto the floor and Clare gasped as she backed up..

"Oh my god, you shot him" she said horrified..

"and you will be next if you dont do exactlly what i say" Vincent said as he yanked her by the arm and she tried to fight against him but to no avail.."dont think i wont think twice about putting a bullet in your head" he said as he put the gun to her head.."Now move your ass" he pushed her towards the door and she took one more final look at John who lay on the ground unmoving and then she was leaving with Vincent..

Natalie laughed as they jumped into Steele's suv.."I cant believe we just did that, i dont think i have ever snuck out of my parents place and im twenty four" she laughed..

"Yeah well i would advise against it, i swear your father probably had those vines put up on purpose" he said as he pulled yet another thorn from his arm..

"alright so where is Gigi" she said as she looked around.."are we meeting her back at the place or could we all just got to Rodi's, i really need a drink after todays events" she began..

"yeah i dont think rodi's is a good idea natalie" he said uncomfortably..

"Yeah your probably right" she sulked as she glanced down at her hands.."You know i really hate all of this paparazzi crap" she sighed..

"it'll blow over im sure" he said as they began to drive but she noticed he was being exceptionally catious as he looked around as if they were being followed..

"Im sure no one is following us, my story isnt that popular" she began then realization hit.."or is it" she said with fear in her eyes..

"No im sure its fine" he said as he continued to drive but natalie noticed he missed the turn to head to their place.."are you taking a different way?" she asked as he looked at her.

"yeah.. sure" he said as he continued to drive and she saw he was heading to the highway..

"dont you think your being a little overly cautious, im sure no one is following" she said again...

"natalie listen" he said seriously and she felt a twist in her stomach.."were not going back to the apartment"

"were not? So where are we going, and where is Gigi" she tried not to sound so alarmed but inside she was starting to freak out a little..

"can we just listen to the radio for a little or something" he said as he put on the radio but natalie quickly shut it off..

"steele what is going on, where are we going" she started to freak out a little, i mean he looked seriously paranoid and that was saying something..

"You know what are you hungry, i think i have some protein bars in the back" he began as he rummaged through a bag as he drove..

"i dont want no damn bar, what the hell is going on" she snapped and he looked at her now and took a deep breath..

"Natalie i need you not to freak out ok, i just need to get you somewhere" he said seriously..

"get me somewhere, what the hell does that mean" she said as she fidgeted some.."where is Gigi"

"Gigi isnt coming ok" he snapped and now she gasped..

"Oh my god , what the hell is going on" she began to panick..."oh my god are you bringing me back to those guys" she began to grab for the door knob as he swerved some as he tried to stop her..

"are you crazy what are you doing" he yelled at her..

"im not going back there, im not, i will die first" she said as she began to try and open the door and he put on the child locks.."Open the damn door.."

"natalie just listen" he tried to calm her..

"No...no just open the door or...or i will" she said as she began to grab at her phone as she tried to dial a number and he quickly swerved and skidded to a stop as her phone fell onto the ground and they both grabbed for it.."let go, let me out of here" she kicked at him and landed a nice one right under his chin as he jumped back..

"Mother fucker" he yelled as he held his chin..

"You think i wouldnt find out, im not stupid" she yelled as she lowered down her window and he watched in shock as she literally tossed herself out and fell to the ground..

"Jesus Natalie, stop" he yelled as he held his chin and she scrambled to her feet and he quickly got out of the car and she began to run away from him but he caught up to her and grabbed her.."will you just listen to me" he said as she spun and kicked him square in the balls and he fell to the ground as she began to run.."Your in danger"she heard him yell out and at first she thought she was hearing things and she slowed her run to a jog as she looked back and he struggled to get up.."They are coming for you" he said again as she stopped now and froze in fear..

"what did you say" she swallowed the lump in her throat...

"god damn it, do you kick box or something" he said as he began to stand as he held himself.."John came to me, he told me to get you somewhere safe, he said those guys were coming for you" he finished as he stood now and she began to walk back over..

"You saw John, when? Where is he" she said almost frantically..

"i dont know but he said you were in trouble, he made me promise to help and i was trying to do just that before you kicked me" he groaned.."If i cant have kids im blaming you"

"But he was with them, why would he be warning you" she began.."Oh my god, there is something your not telling me" she said in shock as he quickly looked away.."I knew it, i knew it when he looked at me that way, he is hiding something"

"natalie just drop it ok" Steele said as he turned from her..

"Like hell i will, he almost raped me back then" she began and he spun and faced her..

"Damn it Natalie my brother would of never raped you!" he yelled at her and she stepped back some.."My brother can be a lot of things but damn it he isnt a rapist" he said with an exasperated sigh as he ran his hand through his hair..She didnt know what to say.."he is trying to keep you safe, he is worried about you"

Natalie gulped.."he said that?"

"does he have to, he has me driving you to god knows where so that you will be safe" he sighed as he shook his head..

"But then why is he doing all of this bad stuff, i know he is dealing drugs" she began as Steele looked at her..

"Natalie i just...listen i just cant say anymore, ok" he said as he looked at her and for some reason she thought maybe it would be wise not to ask him anything else, he seemed really upset about this already.."Can we just get back in the car" he looked at it then at her..

"Ok" she said quietly as they walked over to the car.."Im sorry i accused you" she began as he shook his head..

"its fine, i mean considering everything that has happened" he said low..

"are you hurt, do you need a doctor" she said apologetically..

"i think i will be ok, my ego may be bruised a bit though" he finally showed a hint of a smile.."where the heck did you learn to kick like that"

"My dad was always big on me knowing how to protect myself" she shrugged her shoulders.."when other girls were learning ballet, well i was learning self defense"

"Yeah well i give him props for that, you have one mean kick" he smirked a little as he started up his suv..

"does Gigi know" natalie asked as she looked at him as he drove..he didnt look at her but he shook his head no.."she doesnt know, dont you think she should?" she said in shock..

"Listen its complicated as it is" he began..

"Ok so there are men supposedly after me and your not the slightest bit worried that they will put two and two together and.." her voice trailed as he looked at her..

"Nothing is going to happen to Gigi" he said seriously..

"How do you know that, i mean if they want me so bad" she said as that oh so familiar lump in her throat came back...

"God damn it" he yelled as he quickly did a you turn, apparently he hadnt thought of it that way and he quickly grabbed his phone and began to dial.."hey gi... hey listen.. i know i am sorry too, i know we said we wouldnt run off if we were mad, i know babe but you need to listen... babe.. damn it Gigi will you just listen to me" he yelled finally and even natalie swallowed hard.."im sorry, i know...its just...listen babe, im coming to get you ok, no im coming right now, do you always have to question why, i swear woman you will be the death of me" he continued as he flew down the road.."here" he passed the phone to natalie..

"Hi Gi" natalie began..

"natalie? What are you doing?" Gigi said in shock...

"Listen steele is right ok, were coming to get you" natalie said quickly..

"your coming to get me, i thought you were at your parents, are you ok, i texted you back" Gigi said with worry..

"My phone must of been on silent but yeah im ok and we should be there soon" natalie began..

"should i be worried, something tells me that your parents wouldnt be to happy with you leaving" Gigi began nervously...

"its fine, they were cool" natalie lied as a sound was heard.."what was that"

"Oh just the door, hang on a minute" gigi began..

"Oh my god gigi dont answer that" natalie said quickly but got no response.."Gigi!" she yelled now as Steele looked at her.."someone rang the door bell" natalie said in fear as Steele whipped into the parking lot like a bandit..

"Oh hell no" he said as he jumped out before the car was completely in park and he went running towards the apartment, natalie was in tow.. he ran up two flights of stairs and natalie could barely catch up, she kept calling for him but he was making a mad dash for it and yelling Gigi's name as he ran..By the time natalie got to their place she was not only exhausted but shocked to see Steele pinning some guy to the ground as Gigi looked on horrified..

"what the hell are you doing" Gigi yelled..

"who the hell are you" Steele yelled at the young kid who literally looked like he was going to shit himself..

"I just..i was just bringing pizza" the pimply teenager said as steele looked at him in shock..

"Jesus Steele, he is just the pizza delivery guy" Gigi said with shock..

"Pizza?" steele said still somewhat in shock...

"Uh yeah, i was hungry or atleast i thought i was before you barrled in here like captain caveman" she yelled..

Steele jumped up quick as the kid shook with fear, he pulled him up to.."Hey um, sorry about that" Steele said with embarassment to the kid..

"Can i go now" the kid said with fear in his eyes as he looked up at Steele..

"yeah, um what do i owe you for the pizza" Steele tried to be nonchalant..

"dont worry about it, just keep it" the kid said as he took off out of there and Gigi stood there with her hands on her hips staring at Steele..

"Oh hey, pepperoni, my favorite" Steele said as he picked up a piece of pizza from the floor..

"what the hell is going on" Gigi said angrily as she stood there and natalie nervously shrugged her shoulders as Steele looked at the pizza that was now completely torn up and all over the carpet..

John coughed as he laid there on the carpet, he felt like he had been hit with a mac truck and he honestly didnt know how much time had gone by and he slowly sat up as he held his chest, he moved his shirt only to reveal a bullet proof vest, he quickly put his shirt down and looked at his watch, shit nearly 30 minutes had passed, he grabbed his phone and began to dial a number, his connection was coming and going and then his phone began to flash, the battery was dying.."shit" he huffed as he quickly began to text a message..

Gigi looked at Steele in shock as he tried to pick up the pizza, Natalie quickly grabbed a few beers and brought them into the livingroom.."Your gonna have to start from the beginning buddy" she said with her hands on her hips but before he could answer a text came on his phone and he glanced at it..

"shit" he said under his breath and the look on his face was one of fear..

"what is it" natalie said as she walked over to him and so did Gigi..

"I um... i have to do something" Steele began as he turned from them..

"Oh like hell you are, you better start explaining yourself" Gigi said as she grabbed his phone and looked at it then at him.."what is this?"

"Its John, he's in trouble" Steele said as he looked at them..

"But there is a number here, what is it" Gigi was not having it as she stood there..

"Listen just let me do this please, i cant explain" Steele went to grab the phone but Gigi moved her hand fast and quickly dialed the number as she held the phone to her ear and Steele shook his head as he stood there and then her eyes got wide in shock as she looked at him..

"Oh my god what is it" Natalie said in shock as she looked at Gigi..

Gigi turned and looked at Natalie.."its the federal bureau of investigation" Gigi said in shock..

"what? Why?" Natalie said in confusion..

Gigi's eyes widdened even more as she looked at Steele.."someone answered" she said as she held the phone to him and he let out a large sigh as he grabbed the phone..

"Is this agent Harrison" he said quickly as the girls watched in shock.."My name is Steele McBain and my brother Agent John McBain is in trouble" he said as a collective gasp was heard..

John made his way through the darkened hallway as he listened for voices but it was quiet, too quiet.. He stopped at a door when he heard what sounded like faint crying and when he opened the door he gasped at what he saw cause there was a very much bruised and naked clare on the ground..

"Oh my god, what did they do to you" he said as he dropped to his knees in front of her, she had cuts and scrapes all over her body..

She kept trying to say something but he couldnt understand her...Finally she said a very faint.."im sorry"

"Its ok, you dont need to apologize" he said as he put his coat over her..

"Oh i do believe she does Agent" Vincent said from behind him and the last thing he felt was the blunt end of a gun coming down on his head as everything went black..

Steele hung up the phone as both the girls stared at him in shock.."Neither of you were suppose to hear that" he began..

"Your telling me that John is.." natalie said in shock, she couldnt believe this..

"Your brother is an FBI agent?" Gigi said in shock..

"surprise" Steele said nervously as he looked at them..

"Oh my god, i think im gonna be sick" Natalie said as she ran to the bathroom and Gigi looked at Steele..

"How could you not tell me, after everything we have been through" she said in shock..

"I couldnt tell you" he began..

"Like hell you couldnt, you chose not to" she snapped at him angrily as he stood there.."You couldnt even trust me enough" she began as her voice cracked and he went to touch her and she backed up..."dont ok...just dont" she said as she walked past him and went to check on Natalie, Steele sighed as he leaned down and grabbed a piece of pizza from the floor, he looked at it for a second then took a big bite out if, yep he was screwed..


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Natalie felt sick to her stomach as she leaned over the toilet, FBI, he was FBI and she had slept with him and not only that, she had been following him and accusing him of things, to say she felt like a complete ass was an understatement, she should of seen the signs, she should of known that something was up..I mean she worked in a police station for god sake, she should of used her gut instinct, she felt like crap and a knock on the door alerted her that she wasnt going to be alone much longer..

"nat...nat you ok" Gigi said from the other side of the door, and she knew she had to face her sooner or later..

"Yeah" natalie said as she got up from the floor and went to the door, opening it..

"Oh nat" gigi said as she hugged her tight..."god everything is so fucked up"

"I know, i know" natalie said as they hugged..

"I just cant believe all of this, i mean fbi agent or not, what he did to you natalie" Gigi began..

"He didnt do anything gigi" natalie began as Gigi looked at her confused.."I know everyone is saying i was raped, but i wasnt, no one would listen to me"

"Oh god Natalie, thank god, thank god" Gigi hugged her again.."I thought i was gonna have to kill him"

"he actually tried to help me, those guys would of done far worse, i know that now" Natalie said as Gigi looked at her..

"why were you there, in that place" Gigi asked..

Natalie turned from her now.."I dont know, curiosity, i thought i was doing detective work but i should of left that for the detectives" she sighed..."I hope your not mad at Steele, i know he is torn because of this" natalie looked at her now..

"I'll get over it, it just pisses me off you know, i trusted him to tell me everything" gigi sighed..

"well maybe he was doing it to protect you, to make sure you stayed safe" natalie said as Gigi looked down at the floor..

"yeah maybe your right" she said low

"I know im right, guys are weird you know" natalie smiled a little now..

"Your telling me" Gigi smirked..

The sound of a throat clearing made them look as Steele stood there, munching on a piece of pizza.."You seriously didnt eat that off of the floor , did you?" gigi said as she looked at him..

"what? I was hungry" he shrugged his shoulders..

Gigi rolled her eyes at him.."Your an idiot, you know that right"

"as long as you still love me i dont care" he said with a soft smile..

"of course i do you, you big lug" she said as she turned and hugged him, natalie couldnt help but smile, they really did look good together.."but if you ever and i mean ever lie to me again" Gigi said as she poked him in the ribs..

"Ouch... ok ok" he said as he laughed..

Meanwhile John awoke to a bright light and a seering pain in his right shoulder and he yelled out in pain as he blinked into the bright light..

"Oh good, your awake" Vincent said as he tried to focus on the face and it slowly came into view, he tried to move but he was strapped down and the pain in his shoulder got worse, when he turned and looked at it, he saw that he had what looked like a nine inch blade sticking out of his shoulder..

"You son of a bitch" John yelled as he tried to fight against his restraints.."what did you do to her, what did you do!"

"Oh calm down John, your being just as feisty as that bitch, what was her name, oh yes, Clare.." he stepped closer to John.."You really thought i wouldnt notice!' he yelled as he began to turn the knife and john yelled out in pain.."You stupid fucking agent, i know everything you fool" he yelled out..

"I will fucking kill you" John yelled out..

"so sure of yourself huh, but who is strapped to a fucking chair JOHN!" Vincent yelled as he twisted the knife some more and the pain shot down his arm and back up again as he yelled out.."Not so tough now"

"Just you wait" John said through gritted teeth..

"You under estimate me John, you poor poor fool" Vincent said as he laughed..

"where is clare" John yelled..

"Oh your friend, you are so worried about her" Vincent smiled at him..

"I swear to god if you did anything to hurt her" John began..

"Oh John, when will you learn, i am god" Vincent smiled as one of his men dragged in a kicking and screaming Clare into the room..

"clare..clare!" John yelled as he looked at her brusied and broken body..

"so much care for this woman, you know it does bring a tear to my eye to do this" Vincent smiled..

"dont...ok, i will do what you want, just let her go" John began to plead..

"pleading never did suit you John" Vincent laughed as he walked over to Clare..

"No...NO, you stay away from her" John yelled..

"such a pretty little thing, it would of been so much better if she was the real deal" Vincent smiled as he touched her face and she spit at him..

"Fuck you" she yelled..

"wow i was hoping for some near death begging" Vincent said as he wiped his face..

"Never...never" Clare yelled at him..

"too bad, so sad" Vincent smiled and then John watched as he pulled out a gun and aimed it at her forehead..

"dont do it Vincent, i swear to you" John yelled as he fought against his restraints more..

"Im sorry, you seem to take me for someone who cares" Vincent looked at him as he pulled the trigger..

"Nooooooooooooooooo!" John yelled as Clares lifeless body fell to the ground..

"Oops" Vincent said with a smile..

"You son of a bitch, i will fucking kill you, do you hear me i will fucking kill you!" John yelled..

"we shall see, we shall see" Vincent said as he came over to him and hit him hard against the head as everything began to go fuzzy..Vincent lifted up his head before he blacked out.."How about we play a little game" he laughed as everything went black..

Steele looked at the girls as they all stood there.."well i hate to break this sweet moment but we really should go"

"and where exactlly are we going" Gigi looked at him..

"I dont know, lets think of it as a quick vacation" Steele shrugged his shoulders..

"do you think he is ok" Natalie asked as she looked at Steele..

"You really care about my brother, dont you" he said and she flushed with embarassment..

"well i dont want to see him dead if that is what your asking" she said quickly as Gigi looked at her and smirked..

"Uh huh...i think im starting to see the whole picture now" Gigi smirked..

"what? Cant someone be worried about another person" natalie turned even redder..

"he's John and trust me he can carry his own" Steele said reassuringly and that made Natalie feel just a tiny bit better, not much but a little.."But we really should go" he said as they all walked out of the bedroom and stopped only to see Bo Buchanan standing there..

"leaving so soon" he said as he stood there with his hands on his hips..

"Uncle Bo" Natalie squeaked out as he looked at them...

"do you have any idea the hell i had to go through with your father, he is an absolute wreck right now looking for you" her uncle said as natalie fidgeted with her hands..He smiled a little now.."Im glad your ok and im glad to be the one who found you"

"I just couldnt take it anymore Bo, being there, i felt like a prisoner" she finally said...

"I know, lanfair does have the feel for a prison" he smirked a little and then he walked over to her..."god Natalie dont scare us like that" he said as he hugged her and she hugged him back..

"Im sorry, i just needed to get out of there" she began..

"well um we were actually all heading out" Steele began as Natalie looked at him..

"Yeah, we were going out" Natalie began nervously as her uncle looked at her..

"Going out?" he asked suspiciously.."where"

"Oh you know, just out, just a bunch of kids heading out" Gigi said with a smile..

"is there something your not telling me natalie" her uncle looked at her..

"of course not" she swallowed hard..

"do you really think going out right now after everything that happened" he began..

"Bo nothing happened" Natalie said quickly as he looked at her..

"and thank god for that but still, i dont think going out right now is such a good idea" he said as he looked at her..

"were going away for the weekend" Gigi interjected quickly as Bo looked at her..

"for the weekend?" he said with his head cocked..

"yeah just a little get away" Natalie nervously fidgeted..

"and you know what, we should get on the road, so" Steele said as he took Gigi's hand and they began to walk past Bo..

"i really need this uncle bo" Natalie began as she looked at him..He looked as if he was about to soften when his cell phone began to ring and he glanced at it...

"I have to get this" he said as he turned from them and answered.."Buchanan" he began..."where, when... are the medics on the way, yes..yes i will be there"he said with an edge to his voice that made them all stop and look at him.."and he is alive" the words made a cold chill go through the room as they all froze and stared at him..."Ok, im on my way" he said as he hung up and then faced the trio, his face looked grim.."Your brother is being airlifted to the hospital" a collective gasp was heard as they all looked at him..

"oh my god, is he ok" Steele said first as Natalie felt herself hyperventilating..

"critical" Bo said grimly..

"Oh my god" Natalie gasped as Gigi hugged her..

Natalie always hated the hospital atmosphere, it always seemed so cold and so sterile, so unfriendly and now wasnt any different as they paced the waiting room. All they had heard was that he was found, badly injured and being rushed into surgery, nothing else, nothing more.. It was nerve racking to be sitting there wondering what would happen, what had happened, they had caught a tiny part of the story, something about a woman, another agent who had died, it just brought all of this to light..

Steele looked beyond himself in grief as he stood by the window, it seemed not even Gigi could comfort him, John was all he had in this world, their parents had been deceased for years now and with no other family it was him and John, it had always been him and John..

Natalie had finally spoken to her parents as well and even though her father was absolutely livid and giving her the silent treatment, well her mother was happy that she was ok and she was worried but Bo had told her that he was with Natalie and that seemed to ease her pain a bit..

Now Bo on the other hand had alot of questions for them, it seems as though he was just given the information about John being with the FBI as well and needless to say he wasnt too happy about it, he never did like it when the FBI took things upon themselves, especially when it came to his town..

There were also a lot of men there dressed in black, keeping to themselves, apparently other agents waiting on the word of how their fellow man was, none of them talked to anyone else in that room, they just stayed to themselves..Among the men was one woman, a dark skinned woman with very long legs, dressed in a navy blue suit that was pressed and straight, sort of like her shape, her eyes had been tear stained from crying even though now she stood with a cup of coffee in hand as she paced the room, not saying a word to anyone, Natalie couldnt help but wonder what this woman was to him, she apparently cared alot, that much was apparent and then the guilt began to eat at her, maybe this was his girlfriend, maybe his wife, she had no idea. His life had been filled with so many secrets, she wouldnt be alarmed if Steele didnt know either, cause apparently John lived with secrets and he had for awhile, natalie just stood and watched the woman suspiciously..

It had been nearly three hours since they had gotten to the hospital, sleep had taken its toll on natalie as she laid her head on Gigi's shoulder but the sound of a commotion made her blink her eyes open as a doctor came out..The men in black walked over first, followed by Steele as Natalie and Gigi watched intently..

"the surgery was a success" he began as a collective sigh of relief was heard..

"when can i see him" Steele interjected quickly as the men in black looked at him in a not so friendly way.."Im his family" he snapped a bit coldly, dark shadows now filling under his eyes..

The doctor brought his attention to Steele.."he is resting comfortably, heavily sedated" he began..

"I want to see him" he cut the doctor off..

The woman who barely spoke any words walked up now too.."please let me come see him" she begged to Steele as she looked at him..

"i can only let one person at a time, and like i said, only family right now" the doctor continued..

The woman wiped the tears from her eyes and turned from them, one of the men in black walked over to her, apparently trying to comfort her.."Just dont, dont" she said loudly as everyone looked at her and then she quickly walked out of the room..

"You can come with me" the doctor said to Steele and with a final look at Gigi he left behind the double doors..

"thank god he is ok" Gigi said with relief and Natalie couldnt help but breakdown a little as Gigi hugged her.."Hey its ok, he is gonna be fine, everything is gonna be fine" she said as she hugged her friend, but as much as natalie wanted to believe that, well she had some serious doubts as to what ok meant to Gigi..

Steele made his way down the white corridor, he rubbed his arms aimlessly as they neared the room, the doctor stopped before he entered.."He looks worse then it is, his right arm is badly injured but we did the best we could but" he began..

"i dont want to hear anymore, i just want to see my brother" he said quickly and the doctor nodded his head as he stepped back and Steele opened the door, the sight before him nearly took the air out of his lungs, cause laying there in that bed was his brother, hooked up to all sort of machines, ones that beeped and made noises, he was bandaged and cut up, tubes coming out of him, it was a sight he never thought he would see and he never wanted to see again and slowly he walked into the room..

Natalie contained her outburst for the most part, but the air in this small room felt to hot, she felt too hot and so she excused herself from Gigi who waited patiently for Steele to come back out and natalie made her way outside, the cool air hitting her skin felt nice and she took a deep long breath, the sound of soft crying could be heard as she turned to see that same woman from earlier standing off to the side, she couldnt help herself as she began to walk over to her, she needed to know who this woman was to him..

"i have nothing to say to you" the woman said surprisingly as Natalie got close to her and then stopped, she thought for a moment she had misheard her but the lady turned and faced her, wiping her face as she did so.." I know who you are" she said coldly as she looked at natalie, she honestly was a bit too shocked to say anything.."One of our agents is dead because of you" she said bitterly and Natalie stepped back some..

"I...I didnt" Natalie began to ramble as she stood there..

"Just dont, you know nothing about her, nothing about him, only what he lead you to believe" the woman continued and natalie swallowed hard.."I told him it wasnt worth the risk, that you were no one but you know Johnny, he cant help but rescue a damsel in distress" she said angrily..

"I...I" Natalie began some more, she literally was shell shocked right now by this womans hatred for her..

"You think just cause your family runs this town that you can do whatever you want, stupid little girl" she said as she walked past her..

"hey" Natalie finally called out, finding her voice as the woman stopped in her tracks and turned sharply to face her..

"You should be ashamed of yourself behaving the way you have and yet you call yourself an officer of the law" the woman lashed out at her.."How dare you, how dare you" she said as she turned on her heel and natalie stood there completely shocked and more then just a little disturbed by what had just taken place..

Steele stood a few feet away from his brother as he looked at him and the broken mess before him.."Look what you got yourself into man, your lucky your out of it other wise i would kick your ass myself" steele said as he looked at him.."what were you thinking, you cant always be the damn hero John" he began to break down.."You just wake up, you hear me, you wake up and tell me to piss off like you always do" he wiped the tears that threatened to cry.."Im sure your getting a kick out of this, seeing me get all emotional"he turned his head.."damn allergies" he said as he wiped his eyes.."you know you still owe me a game of pool and a beer" he said with his back turned.."Im holding you to it, just so i can kick your ass"

Natalie made her way back inside as Gigi came over to her.."everything ok" she asked with concern..

"yeah" natalie lied as she looked over at the woman again who was now talking to some of the men.."everything is fine"

Steele came walking out about 30 minutes later, he looked drained and exhausted as Gigi walked up to him.."how is he" she asked and he just nodded his head..he glanced over at the men in black..

"give me a minute" he said as he walked from Gigi over to the group of men, he spoke quietly to them as they seemed to nod in agreement, one of the men even patted him on the back and then he spoke to the woman, she smiled at him as he spoke and then she was heading behind the double doors as he walked back over to Gigi..

"whose that" Gigi asked the question that natalie was wondering just at that very second..

"His friends, they care about him too, he's like family to them" he said as Gigi hugged him..He seemed a bit distant as he hugged her back.."I just need to take a walk, just clear my head" he said as she looked up at him..

"You want me to come" she asked softly as he leaned down and kissed her head..

"Nah you just stay with nat, i wont be long" he said and with that he was leaving the room as Gigi stood there, she looked distraught..

"Ive never seem him like this before" she said with concern..

"its a hard time for everyone" Natalie tried to reassure her..

"yeah, yeah it is" she said as they both stood there in silence..

Steele made his way through the hospital, he stopped in front of the chapel doors and then slowly walked in.."I bet your surprised to see me here, i have to say im quite surprised i didnt burst into flames on entering" he laughed a little as he walked in more and looked around, the place was empty. He walked up to the unlit candle in the front and he lit one as he looked up and for what had to be the first time in his life, he prayed, he prayed for his brother to have the strength to get through this cause without him he would be nothing..

Hours had passed as one by one all the men in black had gone into Johns room and then left immediately after, Natalie felt sick to her stomach, she had yet to be in there and honestly she felt embarassed to ask. Steele had come back from his walk and now was talking with one of the men that was leaving..

Gigi looked to natalie.."Im sure you could go in now, if you wanted to" she said softly as natalie looked at her..

"I ...i dont know" she said with fear, she didnt know why she was so afraid to see him, but being there in the hospital, knowing that everyone had already gone in, knowing that she really didnt even know the man in the bed, it was unnerving..

"go on, you'll feel better if you do" Gigi said as Steele walked back over..

"some of the guys are heading over to the bar for a drink, they invited us over" he said as he got to them.."I know my brother would throw a fit if he knew everyone was just sitting around here feeling sorry for him" he began..

"i think thats a good idea, they care about him, it would be nice to get to know him on a different level" Gigi began as she looked at natalie.."can you please tell natalie to go and see him" she sighed as natalie blinked with wide eyes..

"Of course you can go in natalie" Steele began and Natalie nervously fidgeted.."he would like it if he knew you did" he said softly..

"You think?" she said as she swallowed the large lump in her throat..

"i know it" Steele smiled.."go on" he ushered for her to go..

"we will be right here when you get out" Gigi said as she took Steeles hand into hers and natalie nodded her head..

"Ok" she swallowed hard again and then headed for the doors, Steele and gigi began to talk as she walked through the double doors and headed down the hall, her legs felt so heavy as she moved and she stopped in front of his door..

"alot of people care about that man, if only everyone could be so lucky" she heard a voice say from behind her as she stood outside the door and she turned to see the doctor standing there.. he was a young man, maybe a little older then natalie, he had short cropped hair, big blue soft eyes and he was tall and built even with his blue scrubs on.."You know he can still hear you" he smiled and then walked down the hall and she took a deep breath then entered the room..

The sight of him laying there nearly made her run out of the room, he looked so fragile, so weak and pale, she couldnt help the gasp that left her mouth as she stood at the door. He had so many wires and machines hooked up to him, it broke her heart to see him like that, she honestly was scared to move closer to him..

She stared at the heart monitor that was beeping constantly and the lump in her throat grew bigger..She fidgeted with her hands as she stood there.."I um,... i never like these places, you know" she said nervously as she stood there.."Im sure you dont either but then again i dont really know cause i dont really know you" she swallowed the lump in her throat.."Im sorry for getting you into this" she choked back tears.."i feel responsible for what happened, if i just... i shouldnt of" she quickly wiped her eyes.."i dont know you but i want to, so much" she said as she walked over a bit closer to him, he laid there sleeping and she touched his unbandaged hand, it was warm and she fought the urge to bring it up to her face.."thank you, for helping me" she said softly and she knew the tears were about to come and she honestly didnt want to be sitting in his room crying over him like that and she backed up.."get better" she said as she turned and headed for the door but a slight noise stopped her, it sounded like a voice and she thought she was hearing things and she went to turn the knob and then she heard it again and she turned and looked at him, he was breathing harder now and she itched closer.."John?" she whispered as she walked a bit closer and then she shook her head, he was out cold and with that she walked to the door and left..

But as she closed the door a faint sound came from his mouth.."Natalie"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Steele had convinced the girls to head over to the bar so that they could get to know johns other family, he thought it would be nice for them all to get along and so they headed over to Rodi's. Natalie wasnt in much of a mood to go along but she went anyways and slowly sipped her beer as Steele exchanged stories with the guys.

They were all fairly nice and respectful, well all but one, that woman who Natalie had learned her name was Evangeline and she had been Johns partner for quite sometime, and natalie couldnt help but wonder what else they shared besides a job title, it was made very aware that this woman cared deeply about him and more then just a friendly level, Natalie hated the jealousy that was creeping up in her over this woman..

"You know i just want to say while we are all here, that we must not forget the one that we lost" Evangeline began as they all looked at her.."Clare was my friend and a mother and now" she sucked in tears and then pointed her very long finger at Natalie.."because of her she is dead" she said loud as everyone looked at Evangeline and Natalie quickly stood..

"evangeline, come on lets not do this" one of the guys began..

"why the hell not, im just saying what you are all thinking or maybe you all just dont give a shit cause your sitting with royalty" she snapped bitterly..

Natalie didnt even know what to say, she was morified, embarassed, upset, she quickly began to walk away as Gigi got up..

"i think thats enough" Steele said as he stood..

"Oh dont patronize me Steele, you barely knew your brother as it was" she snapped at him..

"I think you have had enough to drink" one of the guys said as he got up and grabbed evangelines arm..

"You should of been the one dead, not her, do you hear me, NOT her" she yelled as natalie ran outside now, she was heaving and quickly breaking down..

"natalie...wait" Gigi yelled as she ran after her..

"I just want to go home" natalie said with tears..

"dont listen to her ok, this isnt your fault" Gigi began..

"but it is ok, this is all my fault" natalie yelled as Brody came walking over..

"hey...natalie, are you ok" he said as he came over with a confused look on his face..

"can you please take me home" she said to him with tears..

"natalie please dont do this" Gigi said with concern..

"Im sorry i ruined the night, im sorry i ruined everything" natalie said as she began to walk with Brody, Steele came out as he went over to Gigi..

"whats going on, where is she going" he said as he looked at Gigi..

"that bitch in there better mind her mouth or i swear to god" Gigi said as Steele hugged her tight..

"its been hard on everyone ok" he said softly as they watched natalie get into the car with Brody and then he took off..

Brody didnt say anything for a few moments as he drove.."where do you want me to bring you" he asked and she finally looked at him through tear soaked eyes..

"I dont know" she said as she looked back out the window.."just anywhere"

Brody drove for a few more minutes and then pulled up to a small cottage on the other side of town, he looked over at natalie.."it's uh... my place" he said a bit nervously but she honestly didnt care where it was at this point, she opened the car door and got out, looking all around her.."its a bit chilly out" he said as he looked at her and then she walked towards the house as he quickly got out his keys and opened the door, immediately they were surrounded by a mess of toys.."sorry i um didnt get a chance to clean up the mess" he said as he quickly began picking up toys as she walked around with her arms wrapped around herself..

Finally she spoke.."its a nice house"

"thanks its not much but" he said as he put toys down and then shoved his hands in his pockets.."You want a drink, i can make some coffee or tea"

"tea would be nice" she said as she stood there looking around the livingroom..

"Ok" he said as he walked into the kitchen and she made her way around the livingroom, there as a small fireplace that held pictures of him and his daughter and she admired them, he looked so happy and so did she. Some were taken at the park, others during holidays, even some when she was just born and he looked like the most proud father in the world, she wondered if she would ever get to that point in her life, would she ever be a mother, did she even want to raise a child in this world?

She moved from the livingroom into the kitchen where Brody was messing with the teapot, he seemed more nervous then her.."sugar, creamer?" he asked as he fumbled around..

"thank you" she said and he nodded as he went to the fridge" I mean for being there" she said as he stopped at the fridge and then nodded his head..

"anytime Natalie, thats what friends are for, right" he said as he pulled out creamer and then opened the cabinet for sugar..

"how often do you see her, your daughter?" she asked as he kept busy grabbing cups and what not..

"the weekends mostly, and every other holiday" he began.."You know its hard with work and everything" he said as he placed two cups on the counter and pulled out two tea bags.."I call her though every night, sounds silly i know, i mean she is only two" he shook his head..

"i think its sweet, she will remember that" she said as he looked at her and smiled and then continued with the tea..

Brody and Natalie talked while drinking tea, they kept the conversation light and mostly about his high energy daughter Madison, apparently she was a handful at two years old but when Brody talked about her, well he lit up as if he was talking about the best thing in his life, and madison was the best thing in his life..

It wasnt until they had finished their second cup of tea that he finally brought up the reason why she was there.."i know we have been avoiding the subject but i just wanted to say how relieved i was to find you" he began and she stared at her empty cup..

"Im sure you heard all the stories by now" she said softly..

"No one is blaming you natalie and hell no one pays any attention to those damn tabloids" he shook his head and then continued.." and i was just kind of hoping that you were coming back to work" he said as she looked up now..

"i just dont know" she said honestly, she didnt know if she could ever face anyone ever again, hell this was the times that she honestly just wanted to up and disappear..

"its a small town natalie and people talk but who gives a shit, right?" he said with a hint of a smile..

"its easy for you to say, not everyone is talking about you " she said as she stared back at her cup..

"You know when me and bridget first broke up" he began.."everyone and their mother looked at me as if it was my fault" she looked at him now..

"im sorry i wasnt trying to" she began as he shook his head..

"No its fine, i mean hell even the station was starting up rumors" he shook his head.."I was being accused of stuff i hadnt even done and by strangers, and at one point i was just gonna pack it up and leave ya know, start over some where new, somewhere where no one knew me" he stood now and took her cup.."but then i saw that i would be doing just what everyone expected me to do, i would of been a dead beat dad, i would of looked like a coward and im sure Bridget wanted it that way" he turned for the sink.."but then i remembered that the only person who can dictate my life is me, and if i became a deadbeat dad well then i had no one to blame but myself" he said as he leaned against the sink now.."dont let people tell you what you can and can not do, cause in the end none of them matter, all that matters is that you live your life the way you want to, that way when it all is said and done the only person you can blame is yourself and i dont know about you but im not ready to start blaming myself"

Natalie had brody drop her off at Gigi's place and she was welcomed by gigi as soon as she came in the door.."I was worried about you" Gigi said softly..

"its ok, im ok" Natalie said as they both stood there in the quiet apartment..."where's steele?"

"Oh he um decided to go back to the hospital and just sit there with John" she said softly..

"Oh thats good" natalie said as Gigi walked over to her..

"dont worry about what that bitch said ok" she said reassuringly..

"You know i think im just gonna go to bed, its been a long day" natalie said softly..

"Ok if you need me im in the next room" Gigi smiled softly and natalie nodded her head as she headed down the hall, she got to her room and closed the door as she inhaled deep, all the days events and drama came on her like a storm and she slowly fell to the ground and cried..

Natalie woke up the next morning to the sun shining bright and the sound of music playing on the stereo not to mention the overwhelming scent of coffee was in the air, she sat up and glanced at her clock and then she had to do a double take cause the clock read nearly 2 pm..

She climbed from her bed and headed to her bedroom door, the music got louder as she stepped out and she blinked a bit from the loud noise, seriously what was Gigi thinking blasting music even though it was in the afternoon, she couldnt believe she slept so long.. Entering the livingroom room the music hit her full blast and then a second later Gigi was whirling from the kitchen with a huge smile on her face..

"Oh my god i didnt wake you did i" Gigi said loudly as she danced around..

"Um, who are you and what did you do to my friend" natalie said as she scratched her head..

"Oh oh, i made coffee" Gigi grinned as she looked at natalie..

"Uh yeah, i think i will try some of that" natalie said as she looked quizzically at Gigi and then she turned for the kitchen..

"Oh and by the way John is awake, isnt that great " Gigi beamed as natalie spun around, she thought she had heard her wrong..

"um..what?" Natalie said as Gigi lowered the music..

"he woke up, Steele called this morning" she smiled big..

"Oh my god, is he...is everything ok" Natalie said in shock..

"yeah.. i mean he is himself if that is what your wondering, no amnesia or anything" she smirked.."i didnt want to wake you cause there is nothing you or I could do right now anyways"

"yeah...sure" Natalie swallowed hard, her heart was beating so fast, she couldnt believe he was awake and apparently talking..

"the docs are still running a butt load of tests on him but they are expecting a full recovery" Gigi smiled wide..

"wow, thats great" Natalie smiled finally..

"I know, his arm is still banged up but you know that will take time" Gigi said as natalie stood there, she didnt know if she wanted to laugh, scream or cry, he was ok, he was going to be ok.."You Ok?" Gigi said with concern as she looked at Natalie..

"yeah, i guess i just need some coffee" she said as she spun for the kitchen..

"yeah well as soon as your ready were heading up there" Gigi said as Natalie stopped..

"Up there?" she looked at her friend..

"the hospital silly" Gigi laughed and then blasted the music as she danced around, Natalie felt her stomach tighten, she didnt know if she was ready to go see him yet, what if he was mad at her, what if he didnt want to see her, what if he blamed her, she quickly headed in the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, everything got better with coffee, right?

Meanwhile Steele sat next to John as he glanced at the magazines on the bed, but not just any magazines but dirty ones.."You know you better get those out of here before the nurse sees it, i havent even been previed to a sponge bath yet" John laughed a little as Steele rolled his eyes and picked up the magazines..

"glad to see you kept your sense of humor" he said with a shake of his head..

"I gotta when im looking at your sorry mug" John laughed and then groaned some as he moved..His hand went to the small button attached to the morphine pump..."Gotta love good ole morphine" he grinned as he moved some..

"damn thats a lot of juice they pump into you" Steele said with amusement as he looked at the machine..

"better damn well be, im gonna get my monies worth here" he grinned..

"Oh im sure you will bro" Steele sat back in the chair..

"so no word on him yet huh" John said seriously as he looked at Steele..

"You know the doc said no stress" Steele warned..

"yeah well then he doesnt know me very well, whats the verdict" John said as he moved up on the bed some, his body felt like he had been hit by a mac truck and by the sight of his injuries maybe he had..

"the last word i got was he was heading to canada" Steele sighed..

"son of a bitch, just wait til i get out of here" John began..

"Oh settle down John, your not going anywhere for awhile" Steele began..

"Like hell im not as soon as i can get out of this place then im going after him, its the only way he will stop" John sighed..

"Maybe thats what he wants you to think John, maybe he wants you to spend all of your time chasing him, he's long gone man and something tells me it will stay that way" Steele said as he leaned forward.."Just give it a rest, dont let that asshole consume you"

"He murdered one of my coworkers" John began.."she was a friend, a mother for fucks sake" he said angrily..The sound of the door opening made them both look as Gigi stood there awkwardly with natalie behind her..

"if this is a bad time" Gigi began, they had heard him yelling from the hallway, hell Natalie was scared to death to go inside, he sounded like he was in a bad mood..

"thank god, someone other than this poor shlub for me to look at" John shook his head..

"as you can tell my brother is back to his usual cranky self" Steele rolled his eyes as Gigi walked in the room more and it took Natalie a few more seconds to come in as John looked at her..

"were glad your ok John" Gigi said as she came over and stood by the side of his bed, he brought his attention over to her.."Now dont you start crying, i had to deal with the big baby over here earlier" John smirked..

"hey i told you, i got something in my eyes, it was allergies i swear" Steele began.."Babe tell him about the allergies"

"Uh huh, allergies" John rolled his eyes..

"well i can say he does have allergies, last time i saw then come into play was during The Notebook" she smirked..

"Oh..hey now thats not fair" Steele began as John laughed..

"You know i have heard of that condition, i think its called being a pussy" he laughed and so did Gigi...

"yeah yeah laugh it up" Steele rolled his eyes.."Oh hey nat, i didnt see you hiding back there" he said as they all looked at her and she stood back nervously..

"Oh you know i think i forgot that thing" Gigi nudged Steele.."Maybe you can go with me to get it"

"that thing? What thing" Steele began..

"the thing in the car, you know, the thing" she said as she nudged him more..

"woman your crazy" Steele shook his head as john looked at them..

"You know what we will be right back, i left something in the car" Gigi grabbed his arm..

"i dont know why you need me to go to the car with you" Steele began and then he shut up.."Oh...the thing" he smirked now as he winked at natalie and she flushed with embarassment.."so yeah we gotta go get the thing" Steele smirked..

"Your an idiot" Gigi laughed at him as they began to walk out..

"hey your the one going on and on about a thing" he said as they continued to argue out all the way into the hallway..

"glad to see nothing has changed on their part" John said as he sat up some more.."How are you natalie"

"I think i should be asking you that question" she swallowed hard, now that he was up and moving somewhat, he looked better, still banged up but somehow better..

"ah this crap, it will take alot more to hold me down" he smiled some and she fought the urge to cry, it was just so good seeing him..

The mood got quiet around them, she honestly didnt know what to say, she just stood there nervously looking at her hands and then she looked up at him and he was staring at her..

"You should stay away from me Natalie" he finally said as he now drew his eyes to his hands..

"Im sorry about everything that happened" she said softly, the words barely coming out..

"yeah , me too" he said quietly as silence came upon them once more..

"Listen John" her voice cracked as he looked at her..

"Natalie" he cut her off.."we had a good time together but thats all it was" he said as he looked at his hand now..

She honestly didnt know how to respond, it felt like a knife through the heart, how had she grown to care about him this much, in such a short period of time..."its best if we just leave it at that" he continued and she swallowed hard..

"yeah of course" she forced a smile..The sound of a knock at the door snapped them from the moment as natalie turned her head and then just like that she saw Evangeline standing there..She looked at natalie for a split second and then competely looked past her to John..

"I heard you were causing some trouble" she said to John as she ignored natalie and Natalie began to back up..

"evangeline this is" John began as natalie backed up more..

"we already met..I should go" she said as she looked at him and he stopped talking..

"yeah you probably should" Evangeline looked at her and then back at John as she came next to him and took his hand into hers..

Natalie just spun for the door and quickly walked out, for a moment she thought she heard John call her name but she was too morified to go back and ask, all she wanted to do was get the hell out of there..

"are you causing problems already" John raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled sweetly as she rubbed his hand..

"me? Causing problems?, I wouldnt think of it" she smirked..

"Jesus Evangeline" he sighed heavily..

"if you keep on looking at me that way then i will start to get a complex" she shook her head..

"yeah well other people have feelings too" he began..

"isnt other peoples feelings what got us into this mess to start with, not to mention poor Clare" she said as she stepped back..

"it wasnt like that Evangeline and you know it" he sat up more..

"it didnt look like nothing when i came in here" she said as she rolled her eyes..

"evangeline you know bettter then anyone else that i dont have the capability to go there, with anyone" he said seriously ...

She forced a smile.." Yeah, i suppose you have made that quite obvious" she turned and walked to the window..

"Damn it Evangeline, dont do this right now, im in a god damn hospital bed" he snapped as she turned and looked at him..

"You could of died John, did you for once even think about how everyone would feel about that" she said with thick emotion in her voice.

"im sorry i couldnt quite think straight while i was getting my ass kicked" he snapped..

"Oh you know for damn well that is not what i am talking about, you risked your life, your badge, everything for some girl in a little hick town" she said bitterly..

"evangeline, thats enough, im not explaining myself to you" he said through gritted teeth..

"You might be able to lie to everyone and hell even to yourself but i know you John, i know you dont just jump recklessly" she said with hurt in her voice.

"You got it all wrong, this was a case, its always been a case" he said defensively.."i did what i had to for the case"

"so sleeping with her was part of the case" she said to him with wide eyes..

"You know what i think you should just leave, suddenly i dont feel like having company" he said angrily..

"dont be stupid John, she is just some spoiled little bitch who doesnt give a shit about you or your career" she continued..

"I said enough, now get out before you really start to piss me off" he said loudly as the door opened and Steele quickly came in..

"is everything ok" Steele asked as Evangeline quickly turned, she had a fake smile on her face..

"everything is fine, i'll see you around John" she said as she left and Steele kind of just stood there and then looked at John..

"You want to explain to me what the hell that was about" he said as he looked at his brother..

"its nothing"John said with annoyance as he laid his head down.."im getting tired, i think im gonna sleep"

Natalie had met up with Gigi in the hallway as she was heading out.."hey everything ok? Are you leaving?"

"Yeah i just, i havent eatened anything and" Natalie lied as Gigi looked at her..

"You look upset, what happened" Gigi said with worry..

"Nothing, im just gonna...im gonna go" natalie said as she walked past her.."I'll see you at home" Gigi stood there completely and totally confused..


	10. Chapter 10

I just wanted to say Thanks for reading this, you know it never ceases to amaze me that you always gotta have one person who comes along spatting some BS about punctuation, this is what I do in my spare time when im not working full time and going to school, so if the punctuation is too bad for anyone then don't read my stuff, I don't know what else to say. Ive been writing for years and I do it purely for enjoyment, so take it or leave it and move the hell on. Alrighty then, for those who can read my story just find with errors and all ENJOY, I write this for you all!

Chapter Ten

The next few days went as a blur, Natalie had used every excuse under the sun not to go to the hospital to see John, she had even lied to Gigi at one point that she had been spending time with Brody, its not that she was lying cause technically she was cause she was back at work now, maybe she just purged the truth a bit and it seemed to work cause Gigi stopped questioning her and it almost seemed like everything would work ok alright, cause it had been nearly a week since she had seen John and if she could do a week then she could do anything but what she wasnt expecting was when she came home from work on a friday night to find that he was there, back in the same apartment, under the same roof as her and to say she was shocked was an understatement..

She had just gotten home from work and had entered the apartment when she stopped dead in her tracks cause there he was, sitting on the couch, out of his hospital gown and back in regular clothes with a sling on his right arm..

"Oh hey i was trying to call you, i guess you got busy at work" Gigi began as natalie swallowed the lump in her throat, she felt like she was back at ground zero again.."John got released today as you can see" she continued as John looked at her and she tried to avoid his eye contact..

"Oh thats...thats great" she swallowed hard..

"Oh good your here"Steele said as he walked in from the kitchen.."doesnt he look good, he's all moving and everything" he smirked..

"Oh yeah and we almost forgot, you dont mind giving John the room do you" Gigi began..

John cut her off.."i told you its not a problem, the couch is fine"

"Oh dont be silly, that couch is horribly uncomfortable" Gigi began.."But Natalie you wouldnt mind"

"Unbelievable, i told you its fine" John said a bit louder as natalie stood there awkwardly..

"its fine really, im looking for a place anyways, so have the room, its yours" she said quickly..

"i dont want the room" John began as he got increasingly annoyed.."i told you steele that i didnt want a big deal about this, im fine on the couch"

"your healing from surgery and you heard nat, its ok" Gigi continued..

"Damn it im not a fucking infant, i dont want the god damn room" he snapped as he got up and headed in the kitchen and everyone got quiet..

"he's been a little cranky" Gigi said nervously to Natalie..

"Just dont say anything else to him" Steele warned Gigi as he went in the kitchen..They could be heard arguing..

"he got some bad news about his arm" Gigi said quietly.."Its not healing like he would like"

"thats horrible" natalie said honestly, now she wished she never went home..The tension in the apartment was thick...

"Yeah well he will heal better on the bed not on the couch" Gigi began.."he's so damn stubborn" she sighed..

"Yeah well i dont want to piss him off anymore" natalie said uncomfortably..

"Yeah well he is gonna have to get over it" Gigi huffed..

"I told you i would come here if everything was cool and that is not cool, she is not my mother" John huffed as he rummaged through the fridge and then grabbed a beer, he was frustrated and annoyed, his arm was useless to him and without that he had nothing..

"she is just trying to help" Steele began.."do you really think you should be drinking that with the meds your on"

"Oh now your gonna start too, what the fuck bro, i dont need this shit" John huffed angrily..

"Listen im just trying to help you out here John, and your not making it easy" Steele said as John rolled his eyes and huffed again..

"fine, no beer..happy now" he snapped and then stepped out of the kitchen and back into the livingroom where natalie and Gigi stood awkwardly.."what?" he snapped at them as they jumped slightly and then he stormed past and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him..

Everyone stood there in awkward silence, no one knew what to say but natalie knew she didnt want to be here for round two.."Im gonna get changed, i uh, i have plans" Natalie said as she finally turned from them..

"Hows it going with you and Brody" Gigi said as natalie stopped..

"You know, fine...were really just friends hanging out" she began..

"Uh huh i heard that before" Gigi smirked.."he's a good guy nat, i say go for it, plus he has the cutest daughter" she smiled..

"alright well im gonna go get changed" Natalie said uncomfortably as she walked into her room, she could hear John still huffing and puffing under his breath, she seriously needed to start looking for her own place and soon..

John looked at himself in the mirror, it had been a week since the incident and his right arm was still useless, he used his left arm to splash water on his face as he drenched his shirt.."Fuck!" he yelled as he backed up, at this point he wanted to rip his arm off, what use was it to him anyway, he couldnt even make a fist or shoot a gun, his life was looking worse and worse and Vincent was still out there, he pulled out his bottle of pain meds from his pocket and he popped two of them in his mouth as he wiped his face..

He moved out of the bathroom only to see Natalie come out of her room and they both stopped.. She forced a smile at him, it was more of a nervous smile, he looked down without saying anything and walked back in the livingroom as Natalie took a deep breath and headed to the door..

"Have fun tonight, tell Brody i said Hi" Gigi called out and Natalie quickly left, she wasnt even going to see Brody, she just needed to get out of that place, being around John when she knew she had to stay away, that he wanted her to stay away, well it was horribly heart breaking and she was trying to do the right thing..

"who's Brody" John asked as he sat on the couch..

"Just a cop that Natalie has been seeing" Gigi said nonchalantly..

"do you really think its safe for her to just be roaming around" he said a bit bitterly..

"vincent isnt around John" Steele said as he came into the room and John rolled his eyes.."he isnt, they tracked him in Canada, you know that"

"so its all good then, no worries" John said sarcastically as he got up and Gigi and steele both looked at him with concern.."Im going for a walk" he said as he got to the door and then quickly left..

Gigi looked at Steele.."he's not handling this well"

"He's handling it the best he can, he cant even use his arm, so lets give him a break" Steele said with annoyance, apparently he was feeling the tension too..

"Im just saying" Gigi began.."he's not helping himself by behaving like that"

"You have no idea what he is going through ok, he feels like he lost a sense of worth" Steele stood now.."You know maybe you just need to give him a break and stop acting like his damn mother" he said as he walked out of the room and she sat there completely speechless, what the hell was going on there, were they all completely falling apart cause it sure as hell felt like it..

Natalie sat behind the wheel of her car in the parking lot, she honestly didnt even know where to go and so she just sat there and then she saw him, John coming out of the building as he began to walk down the street, unaware of her in the car, she watched him for a few moments until he disappeared around a corner..

The next day didnt prove to be any better, natalie had stayed out the night before just driving around until nearly midnight and then she headed back, all was quiet thank god but the atmosphere was definitely like walking on egg shells and by the morning she was up early and getting ready for work, she couldnt believe that she actually looked forward to leaving cause now it seemed that Steele and Gigi were fighting and things definitely werent looking well all around..

To make matters worse John was up when she went out for her morning coffee and she honestly didnt know how to act with him, should she just ignore him, talk to him? She didnt know and since he wasnt doing any interacting she just let things be as she headed into the kitchen..

It was when she had her cup in hand that she heard him before he spoke.."you know just an fyi, maybe it isnt such a good idea to be prancing around all night" he said a bit coldly as she stood there a bit shocked that number one he was talking to her and number two he was being sort of a dick, she turned and faced him.."its not a very safe thing to do" he said as she swallowed hard..

She honestly didnt know how to take what he was saying..."Im fine but thanks for your concern" she said a bit sarcastically as she went to walk past him and he stepped in her way..

"this is the kind of shit that got you in trouble in the first place" he continued and thats when she smelt the alcohol on his breath, he had been drinking..

"I dont really think you should be drinking while on those pain meds" she began as he laughed and rolled his eyes at her..

"really? Your gonna give me advice? What am i not good enough for you now" he said with a bitter laugh..

"I dont know what your talking about, but your drunk, you should sleep it off" she said as she tried to walk past him but he stood there..

"Oh come on, just weeks ago you couldnt get enough, you were practically begging for it" he laughed..

To say she was horrified by his behaviour would of been an understatement.."Im gonna let that one slide cause i know your not feeling well" she began as he stepped closer to her..

"Not even a little quickie for old times sake" he grinned..

"i think you need to just back up, right now John, i dont think this is funny" she began as her heart raced..

"your always such a damn tease, you like the chase" he stepped closer..

"John, your drunk" she said again..

"what i am is hard and i want to fuck" he got right in front of her..

"No thanks" she backed up..

He looked shocked and stunned for a moment and then he laughed.."Oh so now your just a hot commodity, is that it"

"John i dont want to do this right now, i have to get to work" she began to get a bit loud..

"ah so you can fuck the rookie" he laughed.."Hows that going for you"

"Your really being an ass" she said as she pushed past him and he hit his right arm into the counter..

"Fuck...what the fuck are you doing" he yelled at her drunkingly just as Steele came into the kitchen, looking like he just woke up..

"whats going on" he said with concern as he looked at a pale white natalie and then John..

"she fucking pushed me" John slurred his words..

"i have to go, deal with your brother" Natalie snapped at Steele as she stormed out of the kitchen..

"have you been drinking" Steele said to John in shock..

"what the fuck do you care what i do, get out of my face" John slurred at him...

"god damn it John what the hell are you doing" Steele said with anger..

"well i was about to get laid but you ruined that" he laughed..

"Your going to far man, sleep it off" Steele moved closer to him..

"fuck you, i dont take orders from you" John yelled as he went to swing at Steele but lost his balance and fell to the ground..

"jesus John, look at you, your a fucking mess" Steele said as he tried to help him up..

"leave me the fuck alone, i can do this myself" John yelled at him as he struggled to get up but Steele didnt back up, he grabbed his left arm and yanked him up.."i said i fucking got it" John yelled again..

"listen man you need to sleep it off" Steele said as he looked at his brother, it killed him to see him this way..

"Oh i bet you are loving this, having to take care of your invalid brother, you get all the fucking control" John said bitterly..

"John im gonna tell you one more time, sleep it the fuck off" Steele said as he began to lose his patience..

"or what, what are you gonna do, huh" John poked him in the chest..

"I will take your ass down and trust me you aint gonna like it" he snapped..

"Oh dont take it out on me cause your girlfriend is a damn bitch" John said as Steele clocked him good in the face and john stumbled back..

"Oh my god, what is going on in here!" Gigi yelled as she ran in the kitchen and Steele looked at her..

"Just get out Gigi" he said warningly..

"You fucking busted my lip" John yelled..

"Your lucky it was just your lip" Steele said as he spun from him and he grabbed Gigi's arm and they left the room..

Natalie heard all of this going down as she rushed to get ready for work, she was literally trembling as she got dressed and on the verge of tears, by the time she got out of her room John was laying on his side on the couch and she was half certain she heard him crying but she didnt stay to find out, she left in a hurry, today she would look for an apartment, she seriously needed to get out of there, either that or move back to her parents..

John awoke to the sun hitting him on the face as he groaned, his head was throbbing something nasty and as he blinked his eyes he saw an angry pair of blue ones staring right at him, they belonged to his brother..

"what are you doing?" John groaned as he began to sit up.."what time is it"

"I hate to say it John but if you pull that shit again then your out on your ass, i will personally put you there myself" Steele snapped at him and John squinted at the harshness of his voice..Steele then got up and left, slamming the door shut as John sat up, trying to figure out what the hell had taken place, all he knew was that his head was killing him and oddly enough his lip was throbbing something nasty and he had the taste of blood in his mouth..

"shit" he groaned as he held his head as images of earlier had passed through his mind, they were foggy at best but he remembered Natalie and then he leaned his head back, oh yeah he remembered Natalie and the things he said and then Steele, he touched his lip as he sat there, what the hell had he done..

Natalie could barely get through her day, she was so shook up but she tried to not think of the hellish morning she had cause it was nearly five which meant she would have to be going home soon and that was something she didnt want to do.

Thankfully her anger had kept her from crying but she couldnt help but feel bad for John, he had lost so much already and now he felt like he was losing himself, she had to laugh at her rationlization, was she going crazy, i mean he had been a straight up asshole and yet here she was trying to make excuses for him. She hated that it had come to this, that she had allowed it to come to this, how niave of her to think that once he got out of the hospital that everything would just be normal again, how wrong she was..

Walking aimlessly out of her office, her mind heavy in thought she wasnt looking where she was going as she turned the corner and immediately bumped into someone as a chart skidded across the floor..

"Oh my god i am so sorry" she began as she looked up to see Brody standing there..

"Hey, no worries" he said as he began to pick up the file and the papers that had strewned themselves across the floor..

"I should of been watching where i was going" she said with embarrassment..

"i told you its ok" he said softly as she grabbed the last piece of paper.."Im actually glad that i ran into you, well not figuratively" he smiled some as they both stood.."how have you been?"

"good, you know its um good to be back at work" she forced a smile as she fidgeted with her hands..

"No one is giving you a hard time, right?" he asked with concern..

"No" she began to shake her head as something caught her eye, it was in her uncles office but he wasnt alone, he was talking to someone and she wouldnt miss that body frame ever, it was John and she got stuck staring, apparently Brody caught on as he followed her eyes..

"hey isnt that uh" he began..

"Yeah the um, fbi guy" Natalie swallowed hard..

"wow, i wonder what he is doing here" he began as the door opened and Johns eyes locked on hers, she felt her heart race as she stood there..

"I dont know but i gotta go" she said as she quickly spun to get out of there, what the hell was he doing in her uncles office, she could faintly hear brody calling out to her but she kept walking quickly towards the exit, she seriously didnt want to have to deal with John anymore today..As she got outside she felt safe, she had made it..

"Hey...natalie, wait" she heard Johns voice and against her better judgement she stopped walking even though everything inside of her was telling her to run..

"Listen i um have somewhere i need to be" she turned and faced him..

He walked closer to her, he looked better then he had this morning, he looked sober and showered and even a bit nervous.."Listen i um" he began..

"so what were you doing with my uncle" she said quickly, she honestly didnt want to hear what he had to say..

"Looking for a job" he said with a shake of his head as her eyes got wide.."Me sitting around isnt turning out to be a good thing"

She couldnt believe he was looking for a job there, i mean seriously was this just a way for the world to play a cruel joke on her, to force her in his atmosphere as often as possible..She didnt know what to say..

"Listen im sorry about this morning, what i said was really out of line" he began as she swallowed hard.."i shouldnt of been drinking" he shook his head with embarassment.."I shouldnt of talked to you that way, you didnt deserve it"

"well im glad your feeling better" she said quietly..

"I really am sorry ok, it wont happen again" he fidgeted nervously..

"Ok" she finally said..

"Ok?" he looked at her..

"Ok, its fine" she said again..

"alright, um...good.." he said as tension filled between them.."so um your heading home?" he began..

"actually i have an apartment im going to look at" she began nervously..

"Oh... so your um moving out" he asked..

"yeah it was never a permanent thing anyways" she fidgeted with her hands..

"well i guess that will be nice for you, to get your own place" he ran his free hand through his hair.."so then i will see ya" he said as he began to walk past her and she hated that she felt like she wanted to say more to him but she just couldnt bring herself to do it..But then he stopped.."You know if you need help, with anything" he began.."I got one good arm right?"

"thanks i will keep that in mind" she said as he nodded his head and then they were both walking to their own cars, before she got into hers she looked over at him and he was looking at her but then he quickly got into his car and she did the same, then they both took off..

Natalie found herself just driving around town, she hadnt had an apartment to look at, she had lied to him but she stopped when she saw a big sign off a main road, it read "apartments for rent" and with that she quickly drove towards it, the sooner she got this over with the better..


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"I'll take it" Natalie said as she stood in the one bedroom apartment and the rental manager smiled at her, flashing her big white teeth..

"well then i will get the paper work ready" the bouncy woman said with a grin.

Natalie knew her parents would most likely throw a fit yet again over this decision but atleast she knew that she got this place herself and with her own funds, the place was quaint too, just what she needed and she tried to smile at her accomplishment but at the same time she couldnt help but think of her life now and how so much had changed over the last few weeks, and then she thought of him, John, he was going from hot to cold and then back again, it reminded her of that katy perry song, yep that was him but her life was gonna start now, she got the apartment now all she had to do was fill it, it was a step in the right direction atleast..

John sat talking to his brother at the kitchen table, things had somewhat settled between them since John apologized to him for the night before.."Im really happy that you got the job John, i mean i am surprised that your staying around longer"

"Yeah im not use to that either but the doctors are here" he began..

"and?" Steele raised an eyebrow at him..

"and, what?" John nonchalantly sipped his coffee..

"and not a small part of you is staying because of her" steele just spit it out..

"her who" John played stupid but he knew exactlly who his brother was referring to..

"oh dont act coy with me John, i see the way you look at her and well now it seems you will be working in the same place" Steele continued..

"me and natalie are just friends" John began..

"You know John, it wouldnt hurt to admit that you like her, i mean hell you did save her life" steele shook his head..

"she is a human being, my job is to serve and protect" John began with a roll of his eyes..

"yeah ok cut the shit, you like her" steele began..

"I dont think i am in the shape to like anyone brother, i can barely stand myself" he looked at his non functioning arm..

"self pity doesnt look good on you bro" steele said sarcastically..

"since when are you the relationship expert, i remember a time when you went through so many women you didnt know what to do with yourself" John laughed..

"yeah and...then i found Gigi and the rest is history" he said with a grin..

"yeah well you can keep your relationship, that boat has sailed for me" John began..

"like hell it has, i cant even remember the last time you were in one, i mean Jenna was the last" he began as John stood..

"I dont want to talk about this anymore" he said defensively..

"Your not still bitter over that, are you.. i mean john its been atleast ten years" steele began in shock..

"bitter? I dont even think about it" John lied because if he could pinpoint one time in his life that was the starting point of his bad outlook on relationships then it would of started with her, with Jenna, she had destroyed him for anyone..

"i have to say i am kind of surprised, i mean sure she cheated on you" steele began..

"I said i am done with this, now drop it" John said a bit louder as Gigi walked in the kitchen and stopped as she looked at the guys, Steele stood first then John..

"hey" Steele said softly, the tension was ridiculous in the kitchen.

"I uh just talked to nat, she found a place" Gigi said cautiously as she looked at them..

"Im gonna go lay down for a little bit" John said as he walked out of the kitchen and Gigi looked at Steele..

"dont ask" Steele said with a shake of his head.."But hey that is great news"

"he's not gonna be acting all dickish again is he" Gigi said with worry..

"No its fine, actually he got a job" Steele began..

"really? Where? I mean he is barely healed" she said with confusion..

"yeah well my brother never did like to sit around for too long and its at the station" Steele continued..

"Oh" she said quietly..

"but enough about that, Nat's finally getting her own place" he tried to change the subject..

"yeah and by the way it isnt a good thing" she said with sadness in her voice..

"Oh come on babe, you knew she was gonna" he began..

"yeah well its too soon, and your brother played a part in that" she began..

"Lets just not do this ok, he apologized, he knows he fucked up" Steele began..

"and so were suppose to just forget" Gigi rolled her eyes..

"Babe come on" Steele touched her arm.."I never said my brother was easy to live with"

"Yeah well that is a bit of an understatement, he is more like bipolar" she said sarcastically..

"and that may be true but" he began..

"I get it ok, your happy that your brother is staying around for longer than normal but nat just got here" she sighed..

"and she isnt leaving the town" he sighed now too..

"its just not fair, i dont get enough time with her as it is" she sighed again..

"Listen you will have all the time in the world now that she is getting her own place" he said with a soft smile..

"yeah well see, she wont ever want to come over with him here" she said honestly.."and she is gonna freak out knowing he is working at the station"

Natalie joined them in the kitchen, hearing only the last bit of the conversation, apparently they were given word about Johns new job.."its fine Gi" Natalie began as Gigi looked at her..

"Oh hey" Gigi said nervously as if she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar..

"I hear congrats are in order" Steele said with a smile..

Natalie swallowed nervously.."thanks"

"so you really got the place" Gigi asked as she cast her eyes down..

"its a cute apartment, it even has a balcony" Natalie tried to sound optomistic..

"Oh, thats awesome" Gigi lied, she hated that natalie was leaving..

"I know your not happy" Natalie began..

"wow will you look at the time, i think i have a thing to do" Steele said as he quickly left the kitchen and natalie looked at Gigi..

"Im happy for you nat, i am" Gigi said softly and Natalie just stared at her..'I just hate to think your leaving because of him" she whispered..

"Im not leaving because of him" Natalie lied as she walked over to the sink and looked out the window.."its just time for me to get into my own place"

"its because of this morning" Gigi began..

"Listen this morning was" Natalie paused as she tried to think of what she was going to say.." uncomfortable ok" she looked at Gigi.."but thats not why"

"he apologized, i mean not that it makes anything ok" Gigi began..

"he apologized to me too" natalie said quickly..

"he did?" Gigi said in surprise..."when"

"I saw him at work earlier and well" natalie walked to the fridge and peered inside..

"so then you know" Gigi began.."about the job"

Natalie took a deep breath.."Listen he can do whatever he wants Gigi"

"Nat i know that you" she began and Natalie looked at her now..

"I like brody, im happy with the way things are" natalie said quickly as a sound was heard and they both looked to see John standing there, it got incredibly quiet as they all stood there..

"I was just umm, getting a drink" John began as he looked at them..

"thats alright, actually i need to pack" natalie said as she quickly walked past him and then stopped.."we'll talk later Gigi" she said as she left the room and Gigi sighed as John pulled out a soda and when he closed the fridge he saw Gigi staring at him..

"what?" he said as he looked at her and began to drink the soda..

"You need to fix this" she said seriously as she looked at him..He looked at her confused even though he knew exactlly what she was talking about.."You know what i am talking about John" she huffed as she walked out of the kitchen and left him standing in there alone..

Natalie began packing her stuff back into the suitcases she had brought, she wondered if she could just spend the night at the apartment, maybe even sleep on the floor until she figured out what to do with furniture, she knew her parents would be more than willing to help and this time she was actually thinking it may not be a bad thing.

As she continued to pack she felt his presence before he even spoke and she was half tempted to just act as though she didnt know he was there but then he spoke.."do you need some help" he asked as he stood in the door way, he felt horribly bad for the way things had turned out and oddly enough he felt bad that she was leaving..

"No i think i got it all, i didnt come with much" she said as she glanced at him quickly and then went back to packing..

"Listen i um, i was hoping we could talk for a minute" he said as she placed an article of clothes into the suitcase and then just stood there for a moment without saying anything.."I know i havent been the easiest person to be around" he began..

"You dont need to explain yourself John" she finally said..

"I kind of feel like i do" he said as she looked at him now.."what happened a couple weeks ago" he began..

"it was nothing" she said quickly, she honestly didnt want to do this with him right now, it was humiliating enough having to talk to him when he had made himself oh so clear the other day.."Listen i get it John, what happened was just..nothing" she said as she faced him now and he just looked at her.."Im not doing this to get away from you, or away from anyone, i just" she took a deep breath..

"we had fun though, right" he asked..

"I dont know what your trying to get at, and im really busy" she said as she swallowed hard.

"when i was in the hospital" he began and she looked away..

"we really dont have to do this ok" she said quickly as she began to put things into the suitcase again.."I get it, im not looking for anything from you"

"Im just trying to say" he swallowed hard now..

"You dont have to say anything ok, im not a child who needs constant reminding" she said a bit sarcastically..

"natalie i didnt mean it like that" he said as she looked at him..

"dont feel like you need to clear your conscience with me, its fine, im fine" she said quickly and then she returned to packing her bag..

"natalie" he said as his hand went to her arm and she stopped and stiffened her body..

"Please just dont, just let me leave" she said softly as he stood there, he really had so much more he wanted to say to her but he was never good at this, the whole talking thing was never his strong suit.."I have to go" she said as she zipped up her bag, she didnt want him to humiliate her anymore and then she heard him leave as she stood there and she quickly grabbed her bags, she definitely needed to get the hell out of there before she lost all of her sanity.

It had been a week since she had moved into her own place and finally the place was furnished, thanks to her parents and she had even avoided John for the most part even if he was working at the station now but thankfully her uncle kept him busy enough that she didnt have to actually run into him, she could only see him from afar and he kept his distance which was good considering but it still didnt help that she felt like crap over everything.

She walked aimlessly over to the break room on this particular day, she had been dragging for hours, sleep wasnt coming easy at all, she blamed it on the new place and the big changes in her life but she knew what it was really about, it was him, it was John..As she got to the break room and made her way inside she stopped when she saw him standing there and he looked over at her..

"Oh i didnt know anyone" she began to ramble as she backed up more..

"its fine, theres enough coffee" John said as he stared at her, it had been the first time he had seen her this up close since she had left and needless to say it left him more affected then he would like to admit..

"Yeah i probably should just" she said as she turned, the last thing she wanted was to be stuck in a room with him again..

"natalie wait" he called out and she hated that as soon as her body heard him call out her name, her legs stopped moving, damn traitorous body of hers!.."we work in the same place, its inevitable that we will run in to each other" he began..

"Oh im not" she began to say quickly..

"it doesnt have to be uncomfortable" he began again..

"who says its uncomfortable" she said as she walked in now, trying to act unaffected as she grabbed a cup of coffee..

"hows the new place coming along" he tried to make small talk, the tension was thick and heavy in the air..

"great, i love it" she said as she sipped her coffee and then the room got quiet as they both stood there, a cup of coffee in their hands..

"Oh there you are" Brody said as he came in and then stopped when he saw she wasnt alone.."Oh...i didnt know you had someone" he began awkwardly..

"Oh hey" natalie said almost too enthusiatically.."actually i was looking for you too" she lied..

"You were?" brody said in surprise..

"Yeah it was about a case, come on i will tell you about it on the way" Natalie said quickly as she walked over to Brody and then without another word she left with a very confused looking Brody as John watched..

Natalie began to make her way to her office as Brody followed.."so uh what case is this about" he asked as natalie glanced at him..

"Oh um...its uh" she didnt know what to say, now that she was out of the room and away from John, she honestly didnt know what to say to Brody..

"is everything ok Nat" he asked as she stopped now..

"Yeah of course" she said nervously.."I just cant remember now what it was i wanted to tell you" she shook her head.."dont you hate when that happens" she tried to joke about it..

"Uh sure" he said suspiciously.."It sort of looked like i walked in on something with you and Agent Mcbain" he looked at her..

"what? No, i was just getting coffee" she said quickly..

"It didnt look that way, do you want to talk about it" he began..

"Talk about what? Coffee?" she rolled her eyes..

"You know what i am talking about Nat, i mean about you and the Agent" he said as her eyes got wide..

"Oh there is nothing to talk about" she said in shock.."why would there be anything to talk about"

Brody moved closed to her and brought his voice to a quiet level.."Listen you went through a really traumatic event with him Natalie, have you even talked to him about it"

"brody im fine and i really dont want to relive all of that crap" she began to get defensive..

"Listen im just worried nat, you seem really distant these days and i just want to make sure" he began..

"I just moved into a new place, i havent gotten much sleep, its nothing" she continued..

"well im just letting you know that if you need to talk" he said softly..

"actually right now i just need to get back to work" she said as she walked past him and he stood there, he definitely knew something was going on..He glanced up to see John walking past and they both sort of looked at one another and then Brody quickly walked away as John did the same..

Natalie couldnt wait to get out of work, she was absolutely feeling drained, all she wanted right now was a drink and some food. So she headed over to Rodi's to get something to go..

It was only a Wednesday and the place was pretty barren as she got in and put an order in for a burger and fries as she sipped a beer as she waited patiently..Her mind was back on him though, on John and she wondered if she was ever going to get use to seeing him at work, it really was starting to wear her thin..

"It looks like we both had the same idea" she heard his voice and she jumped as she turned and saw John standing there.."they do have good burgers"

"Oh...yeah" she said a bit in shock as she stood there awkwardly, seriously would it ever end?.."Ok well, enjoy" she said as she went to wait for her food at a table..

"natalie wait" John began as she stopped, she really was not in the mood for this.."this is a little ridiculous, dont you think" he began..

"what? The burgers are good" she said quickly..

"thats not what i mean" he said as he walked closer to her.."can we talk?"

"You know i am actually in a hurry" she began nervously..

"and your burger isnt done yet, i just want a few minutes" he said as she sighed.."You look upset" he continued..

"Im not upset, im hungry now if you dont mind" she went to walk past him but he stepped in her way.."what? What do you want" she snapped at him..Before he could respond her eyes got wide cause walking over was someone she honestly didnt think she would see again and she honestly never wanted to.."what are you doing here" she said in absolute shock..

"natalie" Cris said softly as he came over and John turned and looked at him.."do you know how hard it was to find you, you changed your phone number" he continued and she thought she would be sick, he was there, like really there..

"I changed my number for a reason" she said in shock to him..

"I saw the papers, i heard what happened" he began as he walked closer and she stepped back..

"I have nothing to say to you" she said with a shake of her head as her hands began to shake, John just stood off to the side watching..

"I came all the way here to find you" Cris continued..

"Yeah well you wasted your time" she snapped angrily and then quickly put her beer down, she would leave without the food, she couldnt stomach it now anyways..

"Natalie come on dont do this" Cris put his hand on her arm and she spun around..

"dont touch me" she yanked her arm back..

"Natalie" Cris said again..

"I think she wants you to leave" John interjected as he walked over and natalie looked at him with wide eyes, so did Cris..

"and you are" Cris snapped at him as he looked him up and down..

"someone you dont want to mess with" John said as he looked at him..

"cris just go, you should of never came here" natalie continued..

"Oh so is this why, you went and got yourself another man" Cris said in shock.."Your my fiancee natalie" he said a bit loud..

"I am nothing to you and what i do is none of your business" she snapped..

"Like hell it isnt" Cris yelled as he grabbed her arm again and within seconds John had gotten him pinned to the bar as Natalie gasped..

"I told you to back the hell up" John said through gritted teeth as he held Cris against the bar..He was forcing strain on his right arm as he did so and the pain was shooting up and down it..

"what the hell" Cris said as he shoved John back..

"Cris just leave" Natalie yelled out as Mac came rushing into the front as he looked at them..

"what the hell is going on out here" the bartender said as he looked at them..

"Im giving you two seconds to get the hell out of here" John warned Cris..

"Im sorry Mac but im going to have to take a rain check on the food" natalie said with embarassment as she quickly made her way to the front door..

Cris looked at John.."Your making a big mistake"

"Just try me" John said as he stood there..

"I dont want trouble here" Mac continued..

"well im just leaving" Cris said as John stood in front of him..

"Your not going anywhere" John looked him up and down.."You stay the hell away from her or you deal with me"

"wow so thats how it is huh bro" Cris smirked at him..

"thats exactlly how it is, bro" John said as he flashed his police badge and Cris backed up some.."so as you were saying?" John eyed him as he stood there..

Natalie had flown to her place, she was an absolute wreck, she would have to leave now, he knew she had gone back home and he wouldnt stop, she knew he wouldnt and so she ran inside and began tossing things into a bag, she was an absolute wreck..

She knew she should of never come back home, she should of went somewhere else, somewhere he wouldnt of looked, a loud knocking on her door made her look, my god he had found where she lived, she ignored it as she frantically raced to get stuff into a bag but the knocking continued..

"Natalie open up, its me, John" she heard his voice as she stopped midway, to be honest she really didnt want to see him either.."Natalie please, i know your in there" he continued as she froze, how the hell did he know where she lived, she quickly walked to the door..

"Im busy" she yelled through the door.."go away"

"natalie im not leaving until i make sure your ok" he continued and she huffed..

"Im fine, just please, go" she snapped..

"he took off ok, he is not coming here, i wont let him" he said softly.."Please just open the door"

Natalie took a deep breath and unhooked the locks as she opened the door.."listen im busy" she began..

"and im not leaving until i talk to you" John stood there...

"there is nothing to say, my god why doesnt everyone just leave me alone" she said with frustration and John walked inside..He saw her suitcase on the couch..

"where are you going" he asked as he looked at the bag and then her..

"thats none of your business" she said in shock..

"he's the guy who made you come here, isnt he" he continued..

"You know im really not doing this with you, so if you dont mind" she snapped at him, she was literally on the verge of a breakdown..She tried to move past him but he touched one of her arms..

"jesus natalie your shaking" he said with wide eyes..

"yeah well pardon me for not being all calm at this moment" she said sarcastically.."Just go John"

"Im not leaving you like this, where are you planning on going" he said as he looked back at her bags..

"why do you even care!" she yelled at him now.."Are you just trying to pour salt on the wound, what the hell is your deal" she yelled at him as he stood there a bit in shock..

"Im not trying" he began..

"Just leave me the hell alone" she turned from him, she was seconds from having a complete meltdown..

"Im sorry ok... im an asshole and im sorry" he finally said low as she stood there..

"Just ...leave" she couldnt face him as tears pooled in her eyes..

"I cant do that natalie" he said as he stood there and then she felt him pull her against him as the flood gates opened and she cried against him..

She cried for a few moments against him until it became too awkward to bear and she finally pulled back.. She had broken down in front of him yet again and to say that she felt mortified would be an understatement, she hated how weak she looked right at this moment but it was as if everything in her life was falling apart, everything..

"well here i go again looking like a big damn baby" she said as she wiped her face..

"Your not a baby Natalie" he said as he looked at her..

"what do you want John, i mean really, why even come here" she shook her head..

"I was worried about you" he swallowed hard as he looked at her..

"Yeah well as you can see i am fine" she laughed sarcastically..

"i dont like seeing you like this" he said honestly..

"You know i just dont get you, i mean first your in the hospital and telling me to back off but then there you are, always in my face" she said as her voice began to get loud.."Is this some kind of game to you, to see how much you can push me until i crack, well, guess what, you win..." she yelled as tears streamed down her face, she honestly didnt even care at this point that she was making herself even more vulnerable, i mean honestly she couldnt feel any worse then she did now..

He just stood there, almost like a statue as he looked at her.."You know what, just leave" she shook her head at him..

He turned from her and she watched him walk to the door, she could barely contain her tears at this point but then he stopped.."Ive never done this before" he said quietly, his voice just above a whisper.."i dont know how to handle it" he said as he turned and looked at her now.."Im not good for you natalie"

"well thanks for the pep talk" she said sarcastically as she wiped her tears again..

"damn it Natalie, just listen to me" he said louder as she jumped some.."I dont know what the hell i am doing" he started walking towards her.."all i know is that as much i try to push you away, i cant help but come running back" he stopped right in front of her..He was breathing heavy now..

"what are you trying to say" she said with tears..

"I...i dont know, i just...i dont do this" he began to ramble as she stood there..

"then dont" she finally blurted out as she stepped closer to him and then without thinking her lips were closing in on his as tears streamed down her face and he stood there still, unmoving and she backed up once more, she was about to fall into a hysterical fit, she had kissed him and he just stood there, she was beyond mortified at this point.."Oh my god" she said in complete embarassment as she backed up, she wanted to run from him and instead she spun around but within seconds he had grabbed her arm and spun her back..

"fuck it" he said as his lips crashed onto hers in a surprising and seering kiss as his hands wrapped around her, deepening the kiss to a whole new level that literally took her breath away..


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Slowly they pulled back, both breathless as they looked at one another.."what are we doing" she finally spoke as she looked at him..

"something i should of done a long time ago" he finished as his lips collasped on hers again..

Their bodies began to move seemingly on their own accord as they drifted through the livingroom, their tongues working at full speed, exploring each others mouths as if their lives depended on it.

Her hands moved into his long soft hair as their kissing continued and then she felt her back to the wall as he leaned into her, parting her legs with one of his.."god natalie" he breathed against her lips as his mouth moved to her neck and she couldnt help the moan that escaped her mouth but the mood was cut short by the sound of her phone ringing as they both pulled back.."dont get that" he said with a low groan as he looked at her..

Her eyes darted to her phone that lay on the coffee table and then at him..She didnt want to answer it but the ringing continued.."let me um...just" she said as he backed up some now and then ran a hand through his hair as she quickly walked over to the phone, seeing it was Gigi she answered..

"Oh my god are you ok, i went to rodi's for lunch and then mac told me what happened, i heard cris is in town, where are you" Gigi was damn near frantic as she spoke..

"Im...im ok" Natalie began as she kept her back to John..

"i cant believe he came all the way here, i heard John was there too" Gigi continued..

"Listen this is a bad time" natalie said a bit out of breath..

"Like hell it is, you sound worn out, do you need me to come over" Gigi said with concern..

"No..no dont" she said quickly, the last thing she wanted was for Gigi to see John there..

"No?" Gigi said a bit shocked..

"Listen im kind of in the middle of something, can i just call you back" Natalie tried to rush her off the phone..

"natalie this is kind of a big deal" Gigi continued..

Natalie felt John come up behind her and she held back a gasp as he pressed himself against her and then his lips came onto the back of her neck.."I know, but right now" Natalie couldnt think with his mouth on her..

"whats wrong, you sound upset" Gigi wouldnt quit..

"Im fine, really" Natalie sucked in a deep breath as John moved around her, he removed the phone from her hand as she gasped and he put it to his ear..

"anyone ever tell you that you have the worst timing Gi, give it a rest" he said as he then hung up and tossed the phone on the couch as natalie looked at him with wide eyes..

"Oh my god i cant believe you just did that, you know that she will know that" she began as John stalked back over to her..

"she'd find out sooner or later" he smirked and then his mouth collasped on hers again..

Gigi stood staring at her phone in shock, she was knocked speechless as Steele came into the room.."what are you doing" he asked as he looked at her and she blinked up at him..

"i think Natalie and john are about to" her words failed her as she stood there..

"are about to what?" steele said in confusion..

"i was just talking to nat and then...then john started talking and he hung up on me" she said in shock..

Steele couldnt help the laugh that left his throat and Gigi looked at him like he was crazy.."its about damn time, good for them" he laughed..

"what? Am i missing something here" she said in shock..

"you know for a smart woman sometimes you really can be" he began as her eyes got wide.."not so observant" he smirked..

"are Natalie and John together? Like together, together" she said in shock..

"it kind of looks that way" Steele smirked..

"Holy crap, how the hell did i miss this" Gigi said in shock..

"well they are adults and hell i have been able to see it for weeks" he smirked again..

"what, how? But she is dating Brody" she said in shock..

"You know you really need to get out more babe" he laughed..

"stop it" she swatted at him.."Im serious, like when did this happen"

"Im assuming they just came to their senses, its about damn time, my brother is just as stubborn as she is" he shook his head..

Natalie and John fell onto her bed as they quickly began removing each others clothes..The room was filled with heavy breathing and panting as clothes began to fly left and right..

"are you sure we should do this" she said with a panting breath..

"about as sure as i will ever be" he said as he fell back onto her and began kissing down her collarbone..

"But your arm, i mean.. you could get hurt" she began to panic, she didnt know why but she honestly felt like she was about to have a heart attack, i mean they had done this before but she also knew how it played out and she didnt want to go there again..

"My arm is fine, it doesnt hurt" he continued to kiss down her breasts..

"but this is going to make everything complicated" she gasped as his hand grazed over her nipple and he looked up at her..

"well then lets uncomplicate it" he grinned as his mouth descended on her sensitive flesh again and she gasped at the feeling of his tongue swirling around her nipple..

"Im just saying, i mean...weve been here before" she gasped as he nudged her legs apart with his..

"its a nice place to be" he smirked as he leaned up on an arm and she felt the head of his manhood pressing against her folds of skin..

"I just dont want this,...to be" she tried to talk as his mouth fell onto hers and he pinned her down with his weight..

"I want this, i want you" he breathed against her lips..

"I want you too, but" she said breathless as he moved up some..

"Ive been an asshole, i know that but give me a chance to prove myself here"he smirked some..

"You want to prove yourself" she said as she gasped..

"you know you talk too much" he smirked..

"talking is good, i mean...if we dont talk" she began as he slowly sank into her.."My...god" she gasped..

"Talking is over rated" his mouth fell onto hers again as his body sank deeper into hers and she couldnt help the deep moan that flowed from her mouth to his..

"you feel...soooo...good" she said in a panting breath as she looked at him..

"You feel fucking amazing" he said as his mouth attacked hers again and he slowly began to move in and out of her, the build up was almost too much for her to take as he slowly fucked her..

Cris sat in his car, he knew that this outcome wasnt good and his worry was at an alltime high so when his phone began to ring he looked at it and then quickly answered..

"you are not following through with what we agreed on" the man on the other end of the phone said..

"Listen you dont understand, there was a guy there" Cris began to say in a panicked voice..

"and you gave up that easily, i have to say i am a bit disappointed in you Cris, i guess you really dont care what happens to your sweet Annabel" the man continued..

"wait...wait.. ok...listen dont hurt her" he said quickly..."i just...i need more time ok"

"Im given you more than enough time, now do as i told you or your sweet little lady here will be mailed to you in pieces!" the man yelled..

"Cris... please... please help me!' the sound of his recently pregnant girlfriend crying out sent a chill down his spine..

"Ok ok, just dont hurt her, i will do it, i will get her" Cris began.."what am i suppose to do about his guy"

"dont you worry about him, he is going to find himself very busy soon, you just get natalie and then await my call" the guy said as he heard the phone go dead and he sat in his car..

It was only a few days ago when he was contacted by this man, a few days ago and he thought it was a prank of some sort. I mean this guy just seem to come out of no where and he was offering him things, money and alot of it.

Cris was half tempted to take the money but when push came to shove he knew it was going to be something that would come back and bite him, apparently it had anyways cause when he got home just a few short days ago he had found a note, one that was haunting him to this day.

His girlfriend was missing and now someone was blackmailing him to get to natalie. He didnt know who the man was, hell he had decided to back off from her weeks ago, especially after hearing the news of his impending fatherhood but now this, now not only was his girlfriends life in harm but also his unborn child..

He remembered a conversation he had a few days earlier with the man from the phone.."Listen i will do whatever you want ok"

"Oh i know you will, so you better make plans to head to lanview" the man continued on the phone..

"Lanview...why there" Cris said as fear raced through him..

"cause you do what i say or your girlfriend here gets it" the man snapped.."there seems to of been another girl in your life not so long ago"

"i dont know what your talking about" Cris began...

"Oh i think you do cris, i think you know very well, i mean i have to give you props for all your decieving ways" the man laughed.."I guess one can never be too happy with one woman" he said as Cris gasped in realization..

"Natalie" Cris said low..

"Oh you are a bright one Cris" the man laughed..

"who are you, what do you want with natalie, im not...im not even with her anymore" cris said quickly..

"Lets just say that your ex owes me and i plan to collect" the man began.."and you are going to help me do just that"

Cris sat in his car and stared out the windshield, he was gonna have to get Natalie, one way or another and with that he drove off..

Natalie and John both laid sated and breathing heavy as they stared up at the ceiling.."wow that brought back memories" Natalie said as she tried to regain her breathing..

"Yeah it did" he looked at her as he leaned up on his left arm and he lightly brushed her hair back with his right hand..

"Your not in pain, right" natalie swallowed hard..

"No..i can move it a bit better now" he said with a half smile..

"yeah i noticed that" she smiled as she thought about how he used that very hand to make her scream with desire just minutes ago..

"Yes you did" he said as he leaned down and kissed her again and then slowly pulled back.."that was your ex earlier, wasnt it" he asked and she swallowed hard..

"I really dont want to ruin this moment with talk of him" she began..

"I hate to break it to you Nat but the guy seems a bit unstable at best" John said with concern..

"I dont know what got into him, he's harmless" she said quickly even though part of her was shocked that he had come all the way there and then went on a rant about how she was his fiancee..

"i dont trust him" John said seriously..

"Im sure he is long gone" she said honestly..

"well maybe i should stay the night, you know to make sure" John smirked..

"are you asking to spend the night" she said in shock as she smirked..

"would that be such a bad thing" he grinned as he moved his mouth closer to hers..

"Bad thing?" she said softly.."no, definitely not a bad thing" she said as his lips landed on hers and he rolled her over onto him..

Natalie laid her head on his chest after round three of the most mind blowing sex of her life, they had both been quiet for quite sometime now as she just laid there listening to the beating of his heart..

"You know if you really dont want to stay" she began nervously, she wasnt use to this behaviour from him..

"are you trying to kick me out" he asked as he leaned up some and she looked at him.

"No its just... weird i suppose" she said honestly..

"weird good or weird bad" he cocked his head to the side..

"good" she swallowed hard..

"i would like to stay the night Natalie but if you have other pressing matters" he began as she sat up now..

"pressing matters?" she said with confusion, he actually sounded a bit jealous..

"i know your with that cop" he began and she blinked in surprise..

"Im not with anyone" she said honestly..

"but i heard" he began and she smiled now..

"are you jealous?" she asked with a smirk..

"Jealous? Me?" he shook his head some now as she looked at him.."I dont share Natalie" he said seriously and she swallowed hard..

"well thats a good thing" she said nervously..

"so your going to break things off with the cop" he raised an eyebrow..

"there is nothing to break off, im not dating him" she said again..

"were you just trying to make me jealous?" he said in shock..

"i wasnt trying to do anything" she began and he surprisingly moved, pinning her beneath his weight as she gasped..

"really now cause i could swear" he smiled some, she liked this playful side of him as much as it freaked her out a bit..He moved his hand to her face and brushed a piece of her hair back..."You have no idea how beautiful you are"

Natalie swallowed hard as she looked at him, the mood changing drastically.."I could say the same about you" she whispered..

"what have you done to me" he said with a smile as his lips landed on hers yet again..

They had fallen asleep sometime hours laters but the sound of a phone ringing made them both stir as John sat up and grabbed his phone from the small night stand beside the bed..

"You have any idea what time it is, this better be good" he groaned into the phone as Natalie began to stir more..

"theres been a development in the case" Evangeline began as John sat up more now and natalie finally looked up at him through the darkness of the room..

"what kind of development" he began as he moved off of the bed and began to put his boxer briefs on, Natalie sat up now as she pulled the sheet up on her naked body..

"the chatter has stopped, for weeks now we have been following him but over the last few days he sort of just disappeared" Evangeline began..

"what? How many days" John said loudly as natalie watched him..

"five, maybe six" Evangeline said nervously..

"are you fucking kidding me, someone was suppose to be trailing" John said with aggitation..

"Yeah well we thought it was a glitch and i have other cases im working on john" she began to sound annoyed..

"this is unacceptable, i asked you to do one god damn thing" he snapped at her..

"dont fucking raise your tone with me, i didnt have to call you and tell you" she snapped back at him..

"so then he could be anywhere, back in the states, hell he could be right here in town for all we know"John snapped as natalie quickly began to get dressed, she didnt know exactlly what he was talking about but she was getting the jist of it and frankly what she was hearing was scaring the hell out of her..

"Oh i seriously doubt he is back in the states John, your being paranoid" she began..

"paranoid, this guy is a fucking psycho" John yelled as he glanced at natalie now.."i want all available eyes out looking for him"

"you know i dont have the kind of authority to do that " Evangeline said quickly..

"i dont give a shit who you have to talk to, just do it and that is an order" he yelled..

"I dont have to take orders from you John, your the one who decided to take an extended leave of absense so that you could play house" she snapped bitterly..

"fine if you wont do it then i will get someone who will" he said as he hung up and quickly began getting dressed..

"whats going on" natalie asked nervously..

"Vincent has gone missing" he said as he reached for his shirt..

"what? How? Where" she said in shock as she looked at him, fear starting to course through her..

"i dont know but im going to find out" he said as he grabbed his shoes..

"Your not leaving are you" she said as he looked at her and then slowly walked over to her..

"he wont stop until he gets what he wants and i cant afford to let anything happen to you, not again" he said as he touched her arm..

"you cant just go John, listen i can help, my uncle" she began..

He cut her off.."You dont say anything to your uncle" he said seriously..

"why not, he could help" she said with a shake of her head..

"No, he will make things worse" he said seriously..

"you dont know my uncle" she continued..

"Natalie listen to me, i know how this guy works, i had been tracking him for months" he began as she looked at him..

"then let me help you" she said quickly..

"absolutey not, actually you should probably go to your parents place, stay there until this blows over"he said as he began to put his shoes on again..

"im not going to my parents house" she said as she looked at him..

"dont argue with me over this natalie" he glanced at her..

"Im not going" she snapped loudly as he looked at her..

"why are you doing this, i cant do my job if i am worried about you" he said a bit loud..

"and im not allowed to worry about you" she said in shock..

"trust me, im fine" he said as he fixed his shirt..

"like hell you are, your arm is still bothering you, your not healed" she said as he looked at her..

"Just do as i say natalie" he said warningly..

"Im not some weak defenseless girl, i can take care of myself and i want to help, i want this guy behind bars as much as you" she said loudly..

"see thats the difference between us, i want him dead" he said as she blinked in shock, she couldnt believe she was hearing this..

"so what are you gonna do, just go off and find him yourself, come on that is crazy" she said sarcastically..

"Let me do my job natalie" he said as he grabbed his phone and went to dial a number..

"Please dont do this" she said as he looked at her..

He walked over to her now and touched her face.."Natalie, i couldnt live with myself if something happened to you, i need to end this once and for all"

"Please just let the cops handle it" she said with a pleading voice..

"Please just do as i tell you and go to your parents" he said as he looked at her, she could see the fear in his eyes, as much as it scared her it also made her see how much he did care..

"fine" she said low..

"fine?" he asked in shock..

"I will go to my parents" she lied, she had no intention of going to them, if John didnt accept her help then she would help him without him knowing.."dont look so shocked"

"i just didnt expect you to back down so quickly" he said suspiciously.."this is really important, your safety means everything, it always has" he said honestly...

"and thats why i will go" she swallowed hard..

"first thing in the morning?" he glanced at his watch and then her.."which is in a few hours"

"Ok" she said quickly and then he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight..Leaning up he kissed her head..

"I have to make a few phone calls, you should lay back down, get some more sleep, i will be right out there" he pointed to the door..

"sure" she forced a smile..

"thank you natalie, thank you for not fighting me on this" he said with a final kiss and then he was leaving as he dialed his phone and she stood there, she would help him whether he liked it or not..


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Natalie could hear him on the phone talking to numerous people as she stayed in her room, she hated that he was trying to do this on his own, why couldnt he trust her to be able to help, she waited about an hour in the room and then headed into the livingroom where he had just finished a phone call..

"hey you didnt sleep" he said as he walked over to her..

"Im really not tired" she said honestly.."what are you planning on doing John"

"I dont want you to worry about that, i got this" he said as he brushed a piece of her hair back.."do you think its too early to stop by your parents" he asked as she rolled her eyes..

"John its six am, yeah just a little early" she shook her head as he looked at his watch.."I wish you would just tell me what you are doing"

"I just have a couple people to meet up with" he began as she sighed.."Listen natalie the sooner this is over with the better"

"Yeah well what if it is never over" she said honestly..

"dont think like that, im gonna end this" he said with a seriousness to his voice that made her queezy..His phone began to ring again as they stood there..He glanced at it.."I need to go" he said as he looked back at her.."can you get dressed and just head over to your parents, even if it is early"

"fine" she sighed..

"I'll call you in a little bit" he said as he pulled her against him and then kissed her quickly..

"be safe" she said as he pulled back..

"always am" he grinned and then he was leaving as she stood there all alone yet again..

Natalie contemplated what to do, the last time she had tried to help him it damn near cost him his life and now she felt like she was back in the same situation but maybe this time the outcome could be different, maybe just listening to him wasnt such a bad idea this time.

Things seemed to have changed with them over the night, not to mention he had stayed the night and he had basically gone out and told Gigi, but what did this mean for them, were they a couple now?

The sound of a knock at her door snapped her from her thoughts, she wondered if maybe it was him, maybe he had changed his mind after all and with that she quickly sprinted to the door...

"changed your mind?" she said as she swung open the door but the person standing there wasnt John at all and the gasp that left her mouth could be heard loud.."what the hell Cris"

"Natalie just let me explain" he began as she went to slam the door in his face, she couldnt believe he had just showed up at her place like that, how had he found it? But his hand came up and pushed the door open hard as she stumbled back..

"are you crazy what are you doing" she yelled now as he came in and then her eyes landed on the gun in his hand.."what the hell are you doing with a gun" she said in fear..

"I dont have a choice, i just dont and stop asking me questions" he yelled and the look on his face was that of a crazed person. He look like he hadnt slept, dark circles under his eyes, he looked frantic. Had he looked like that last night, had she not noticed?

"Ok listen...there is no need for violence" she began to back up as she tried to eye something to defend herself with..

"You have no idea natalie, no idea at all" he said as he pointed the gun at her..

"Ok ok ok... just dont shoot me" she put her hands up as she stopped walking..

"You need to come with me and you need to come with me now" he said as his hand shook slightly and she swallowed hard..

"Im sure we can figure this out Cris" she eyed the small lamp off to the side..

"I dont think you hear what i am saying, you need to come with me NOW" he yelled as she jumped some..

"alright im coming, but where are we going" she said as she inched her way to the lamp.."im gonna need clothes, and my purse" she swallowed..

"no,...just get over here, nice and slow" he waved the gun some more..

"Ok..ok im coming" she said as her voice shook and the sound of her phone ringing made him look away for a second and that was all she needed as she grabbed the lamp and threw it with striking force right at his head and within seconds he was down for the count as she took off running for her phone and once she had it she got to the door, jumping over his unmoving body as she did so but as she swung the door open she was greeted with a wide chest and big muscular arms..

Her voice left her as she damn near banged into the massive form and when she looked up a small yelp left her voice cause it was one of the men from weeks earlier, one of Vincents men standing there.."going somewhere sweetheart" he said as he looked at her and within seconds he had grabbed her, covered her mouth with a white cloth and then everything went black..

John looked at his phone as Natalie's voice came up on the voicemail..She hadnt answered.."John you need to focus if were going to get this son of a bitch" Evangeline began as John looked at her and then he did a quick you turn, damn near causing an accident as Evangeline yelled.."are you nuts, what the hell are you doing"

"something is not right, were going back" he said almost frantically, he felt sick in his stomach, something wasnt right, he could feel it..

"Your driving like a madman, now stop this" she yelled again.."she is probably just in the shower!" she yelled..

"No...all of this, something isnt right, something isnt adding up" he said as he sped down the road..

"this is exactlly what you did last time John, you got involved with this girl and someone ended up dead" she yelled with anger..

"You want me to let you out now cause i will Evangeline" he said warningly..

"Your unbelievable!" she huffed as he sped around the corners and dialed her phone again..

"pick up Natalie, pick up" he began to chant to himself as the phone rang and rang but nothing..

"You know im starting to think that maybe you should of under went a psycologicial evalution John" she yelled..

"just shut up, shut the hell up!" John yelled as he pulled into the complex of Natalie's apartment and without a word he screeched to a halt and then jumped out, running for her place..

He ran up one flight of stairs and down the hall to her apartment, he could see her door open and he began yelling for her as he neared it but then he saw her phone on the ground, just as his eyes landed on a body that was groaning on the floor in pain..He recognized the body, it was the guy from the night before, he was her ex..

He ran to the man on the ground.."what the fuck did you do to her" he yelled as he yanked the guy up by the collar and all he got was more groaning and he dropped him on the floor as he eyed the gun that had skidded across the carpet.."Natalie...Natalie!" he yelled as he frantically searched the apartment but she was gone, as he got back in the livingroom , Evangeline was coming in.. "You son of a bitch what did you do!" John yelled as he yanked the guy all the way up now and began to slam into nearby objects and furntiure, ending with him up against the wall.."where the fuck is she!" he yelled..

"John stop it!" Evangeline yelled.."Your gonna kill him!"

The guy mumbled something as he looked at John.."I swear to god if you dont tell me" John began to yell..

"Maybe she took off running" Evangeline began..

"and leave her phone,.. no... something else happened here" John said through gritted teeth and then he looked at Cris again.."tell me" he yelled just as his phone began to ring and he grabbed it as he kept Cris pinned to the wall..

"well hello there Agent, i take it that your enjoying the start of our little game" a familiar voice said and he felt his blood run cold..It was Vincent..

"where is she, you son of a bitch" John yelled..

"Oh now is that anyway to treat an old confidant of yours" Vincent laughed..

"I swear to god if you even lay one hand on her" John yelled..

"Oh i plan to have many many hands on her agent" he said cooly and John quickly tossed Cris onto the floor.."what do you want, just tell me" he lowered his voice some..

"well now your asking the right questions agent, happy hunting" he laughed and then hung up..

"Hello...hello!" John yelled into the phone.."god damn it!' he yelled again and then looked at the guy who was trying to get up off the floor."Oh no you dont you son of a bitch" John yelled as he kicked him and Cris yelled out in pain as he fell onto his back and within seconds John was on him with a gun to his head.."You tell me where she is, you fucking tell me!" he yelled..

Natalie awoke to pure darkness, she couldnt move either, her hands and feet were tied together and something was over her mouth as she began to rock and move violently back and forth. Yelling did her no good with her mouth covered and the space she was in was small and then it hit her, she was moving, she was in a car trunk, fear raced through her as she remembered the massive guy at her door and she began to thrash against the trunk but to no avail..

John's fists repeatedly hit into the bloodied flesh of Cris's face as he yelled at him, demanding to know where natalie was as Evangeline yelled at him to stop before he killed him..All he could see was red and then he felt a pair of hands yank him back as he slammed into the wall..

The place was filled with police officers.."drop the gun!" Brody yelled at him as another officer pinned him to the wall..."Drop it John!" and he finally did as he was told as he looked around..

"they have her, he led them to her" John yelled out..

"everyone calm the hell down, what is going on here" Bo said as he walked into the apartment and then looked at John..

"Bo, they have her... Vincent...he has her" John began almost frantically..

"John you need to tell me from the beginning, what the hell happened, where is natalie" Bo said with increasing worry in his voice..

"that son of a bitch got her and i will kill him, i'll kill him" John yelled as he went to lunge at Cris but he was held back by three police officers..

Natalie tried to break free until her wrists were covered in blood and her throat was dry from screaming but it was pointless, no one could hear her, no one could see her and then the car stopped moving and she froze as she heard a car door open and then shut and then she could hear a man talking..She tried to hear what he was saying but it was all muffled and then she was blinded by light as the trunk opened..

"time to go sweetheart" the large man said as he grabbed her out of the trunk and she tried her best to fight against him but being tied limited her movements.."stop moving bitch!" he yelled as his hand came across her face, slapping her so hard that for a second she had seen stars and tears pricked her eyes.."thats a warning, next time i wont be so nice" the man said to her with a smile and then he proceeded on carrying her..

Her eyes were fuzzy now but she could make out trees, alot of trees, it looked like they were in the woods and it couldnt of been too far cause they hadnt been in the car that long, or atleast she hadnt thought they were. She heard him open a door and then they were inside of an old cabin, one that from what she could see was covered in dust and cobwebs. Without warning he dropped her unceremoniously onto the ground as she cried out in pain..

"Now dont fucking move" the guy yelled at her as he made his way through the small cabin and she laid there on the cold hard floor, blinking through tears she tried to make out as much detail as she could, she'd be damned if she was going to die there and in all honesty if he had wanted to kill her he would have and the fact that he kept her alive sent a chill through her spine, she was alive for a reason and as more time went by she was scared to death to find out what that reason was..

John yelled and hit against the cold metal bars of the jail cell that held him, his knuckles were bleeding and his shirt was covered in blood as he yelled.."let me out of here, you cant keep me in here" he yelled..

His mind was on natalie and where she was and what could possibly be happening to her right at this moment and he couldnt do a damn thing about it..

"alright that is enough, you need to calm the hell down" Bo said as he entered the holding cells..

"Bo you got to get me out of here, he has her" John tried to lower his voice..

"Im just trying to figure out what the hell happened" Bo said with concern in his voice..

"he called me ok, Vincent,..he has her...he's not gonna stop until he has what he wants, he'll kill her Bo, i know he will" John said desperate heaving breaths..

"someone let him out" Bo yelled to another guard and then he looked at John..."dont make me regret this, were doing this together, she is my niece" Bo said warningly as a guard walked over and unlocked the cell as John came out..

"wheres that guy, he knows something" John said frantically..

"well thanks to you he is at the hospital" Bo said angrily..

"Im going there" John went to walk past him but Bo got in his way..

"Like hell you are, i have officers questioning him now and you will stay the hell away from him and let me do my job!" Bo yelled..

"dont you get it, she is out there, he has her" John yelled..

"we are doing all we can to find her, now settle the hell down!" Bo yelled.."I gave you a chance in this town, i offered you a job and now my niece is missing!" he yelled..

"were wasting time Bo, we have to find her, she is out there" John began..

"I talked to your supervisor, as of right now your off duty and that means your going to back the hell off and let my men do their jobs" Bo barked at him..

"Your joking right? Your niece is out there and your just gonna sit by and fuck around" John yelled bitterly..

"Im doing my job and my job is to make sure she stays alive" Bo yelled..

"Yeah well your job is what is going to get her killed" John snapped at him as he went to walk past him, Bo stood in his way.."am i free to go" he said through gritted teeth..

"dont make me regret this John, you back the hell off of this and let my men do their job" Bo said warningly as he stepped aside and John pushed past him without saying a word, he would get to natalie, he would or he would die trying..

Natalie laid on the ground as she listened to the man on the phone.."yeah she is one fiesty bitch" he laughed.."i'll be awaiting your word boss" he said as he walked over to her.."Ok, here she is" the man said as he put the phone to her ear..

"hello natalie, long time" Vincent said as she tried to yell at him.."oh dont be so upset sweetheart, we'll be seeing each other soon enough"

The man took the phone from her ear.."you just keep our guest comfortable, i have an agent to deal with" Vincent continued..

"got it boss" the man said as he hung up and then looked at natalie, she glared at him as she tried to yell but the tape covering her mouth prevented any words from coming out.."if it was up to me i would of just killed you" the man said as he leaned down and grabbed her by her hair and she cried out as he yanked her up.."Just remember accidents always happen" he laughed and then he tossed her on an old couch as he made his way into another room and she laid there desperately trying to get her hands free..

John made his way into the lobby of the station only to see his brother rushing over.."jesus John what the hell happened" steele said in shock..

"I need your truck" John said as he walked past him..

Steele walked after him.."just tell me what we need to do" he said as John looked at him..

"I need guns and alot of them" John said as they headed outside..

John and steele drove through town as John tried to figure out how this was going to play out.."she cant die" he finally said to steele who looked at him as he drove..

"she's not going to" Steele said as he looked at his brother.."you said yourself that this guy is playing a game, what do you say we up the ante"

John looked at him confused.."what do you got going on in the head"

"Lets just say that i have learned alot from my brother" Steele grinned devilishly.."come on i have someone we need to pay a visit to"

The drove to almost the outskirts of town before Steele pulled up to a large old apartment building as they got out John looked at him.."this better be good"

"trust me if anyone can find out the goods on Vincent then it is my guy" Steele began as they walked up to the building.."but im gonna warn you he is a bit of a hermit"

"Oh jesus, i dont have time for games" John said angrily..

"No no...he's cool and lets just say he owes me a favor" Steele said as they made their way inside the old building..

The building looked abandoned, it was covered in dust and parts of the floor and walls were coming undone, it honestly didnt look livable but they got to a door and Steele knocked.. Alot of rustling was heard as John looked at his brother and he pulled out his gun, Steele shook his head at him..

"who's there" a small voice said through the door..

"its me, open up kid" Steele said..

"you know im not really in the mood for company" the guy on the other end said..

John looked at Steele.."how about you open the door or i start shooting" John snapped..

"that isnt going to help us out" Steele warned him..

"Like hell its not, she is out there somewhere" John snapped.."Open the fucking door" John yelled..

"Im really not liking his tone Steele" the voice said..

John looked at his brother and then cocked his gun back.."just open the door, my friend is a bit antsy" Steele said as he looked at John..

"i really dont want trouble" the guy said..

"this is a fucking waste" John snapped.."Im gonna count to three" he yelled at the door..

"You know i really dont appreciate the negative attitude" the guy said again..

"one" John said..

"Just open the door" steele said quickly..

"two" John stepped back some..

"Ok ok...just chill rambo" the kid yelled as numerous locks were heard being unchained from the door and then he opened the door a crack and peeked out.."Listen i have alot of expensive stuff in here" he began as John pushed the door hard and the kid stumbled back.."Please dont go all hulk in here, my life's work is here" the kid said as John looked around, the place was literally filled with computers and other devices..

The guy standing before him looked just like a kid, maybe five foot seven, thin with blonde straggly hair..

"what the hell is all of this" John began as they walked in..

"he' not a cop right, you promised no cops" the kid continued as he looked at Steele..

"are you a computer hacker?" John said mainly to himself as he looked around.."You brought us to some fucking computer hacker" he snapped now at Steele..

"hey i resent that" the kid continued as John looked at him hard.."he has uh anger issues huh" he looked at Steele..

"listen he is the best there is" Steele began..

"we better hope so" John said as he looked at the kid who looked at the gun in his hand and he swallowed noisily...

"John this is rex, Rex this is my brother John" Steele said as the guys looked at one another..

"You better know what the fuck your doing kid" John said warningly..

"wow your brother is a bit cranky" Rex began as John stared at him hard.."anyways what can i do to help" he looked at them..

"I need you to tell me everything you can about a man named Vincent Jones" Steele said as Rex walked over to one of the many computers that were hooked up..

"whats in it for me" Rex raised an eyebrow..

"how about i will let you live?" John said as he glared at him..

"You know he really is ruining feng shui in here" Rex began..

"his what? This guy is a fucking joke" John snapped..

"Just let him do what he does, trust me" Steele said..

"You know i cant afford to lose good kharma points here" rex said as he looked at Steele..

"Can you stop with the crazy talk and tell me what you know about Vincent" John barked at him..

"ok ok geez...why dont you have a capri sun or something" Rex began typing into the computer..

"he better know his shit" John said with Steele..

"he does and then we will start playing by our own rules" Steele said as they both looked at Rex..

"seriously take a capri sun big guy, they are over there" he pointed to a cluttered counter, John just looked at him..."suit yourself" he sighed as he continued typing in the computer..


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry it took so long to update, work was just shitty all around and I wont be able to update til maybe tomorrow, I still have more to write but going to spend some time with my bestie and get my hair done :), so enjoy! Oh and btw I already have another idea to work on, so when this is finally over there should be something shortly after.

Chapter Fourteen

John paced impatiently around the small apartment as Rex continued to type things into the computer.."Holy shit this guy is on the FBI's most wanted" Rex began as they looked at him..

"I need to know about his family, anyone who is close to him" Steele said as John shook his head, he felt like they were wasting valuable time and he tried not to think of what could be happening to Natalie right at this moment..

"I'll see what i can do but man, this guy covers his tracks good" Rex continued..

"were wasting time here" john said with annoyance just as his phone rang and he looked at it then at Steele..

"having fun yet" the voice on the other end of the line said..

"what do you want Vincent" John began as he paced..

"You know you should have a more appreciative tone with me agent" vincent began..

John gritted his teeth.."If you do anything to her"

"I said i dont like your tone!" Vincent yelled.."now you listen to me and you listen good otherwise the next time you see her it will be in pieces" he snapped and John held in his anger.."Now that is much better" he continued.." i think this conversation will go much better in person, dont you"

"Just tell me where to go" John gritted his teeth..

"I dont have to remind you that cops are not an option" Vincent warned.."I have a car waiting for you at the old docks, go there alone" he said as the line went dead..

"I have to go" John said as he turned from them..

"John thats not a good idea" Steele looked at him..

"You just get something, anything" John said as he got to the door..

"wait i got something" rex called out as they both looked at him.."it seems as though Vincent is quite the family man"

"what the hell does that mean" John said angrily..

"he's got a wife, kids" he began as Steele and John looked at one another..

"You got an address" Steele asked..

"in a minute i will" Rex said as he continued typing..

"Go John, i will take care of this" Steele said as he looked at his brother..

"Im gonna owe you" John said as Steele nodded his head..

"just keep yourself alive and get to natalie" he said..

"I plan on it" John said as he left and Steele walked over to rex..

"give me everything you got on him" he said as rex continued typing..

Natalie laid on the couch as the man continued to walk around, she had been working on getting her wrists freed for sometime now and the rope around them felt a bit looser as she tried to wiggle free but the sound of a car pulling up made her jump, she knew this wouldnt be good. The man that was with her went to the door and out of her sight even though she could still hear him..

"where is she" she heard Vincents voice and her body froze..

"on the couch" the man said as she heard foot steps and then she glanced at a pair of legs in an expensive dress suit..

"Hi natalie" Vincent said as he leaned down and brushed a piece of her hair from her face as she tried to shake his hand off.."still fiesty as ever" he grinned.."Now if you promise to be a good girl i will take off this tape" he smiled at her and she narrowed her eyes at him.."i can see why the agent has such an interest in you" he licked his lips and then without warning he yanked the tape from her and she cried out as it tore the skin on her mouth..

"You son of a bitch" she yelled at him..

"hey now you promised to be good" Vincent shook his finger at her..

"Fuck you" she yelled as she spit at him and he backed up, wiping it from his cheek..

"i told you boss she is one fiesty bitch, better off keeping her mouth shut" the man in the room said..

"But were going to have uses for that mouth" he grinned as natalie gasped some and he looked at her.."oh dont you worry sweetheart, im gonna make sure to keep that pretty mouth of yours busy for quite sometime" he smiled as fear coursed through her..

John pulled into the docks as he looked around, it was barren and empty except for a few warehouses, he stopped his car and got out.. There was a car out in the distance and he walked over to it, it looked empty but a sound caught his attention, something behind him and he spun around just in time to see a gun about to hit him but he was moving fast and he grabbed the mans hand, slamming it into the car as the gun dropped to the ground and the two men began to struggle..

The two men exchanged punches as they rolled onto the ground, the guy definitely had some sort of training but John was much more experienced as he finally got the guy in a headlock as he began to crush the mans windpipe..

"if...if you kill me you will never find her" the man choked out as John continued to squeeze at his neck.."He'll kill her" the man choked out some more and john finally loosed his grip some, but not much..

"where is she" he said through gritted teeth and the guy laughed some.."you think this is funny, hows this for funny" John yelled as he grabbed one of the mans fingers and snapped it back as the guy cried out in pain.."Im gonna ask you one more time and then im gonna break each and everyone of your fingers" he said as the guy looked up at him with fear in his eyes..

Steele took the information he had gotten from Rex and he began the short drive over to Port Charles, thats where Vincent had his family living, a wife and three small children. He was going to pay them all a visit and end this thing once and for all..

Vincent had put natalie into another car, not in the trunk this time though as he sat in the back with her and someone else drove.."He's gonna find me you know" she began as she glared at Vincent..

"Oh trust me, i plan on it" he smiled, just the sick look in his eye made her skin crawl, he had something planned, something big..

They didnt drive for long, actually they were still in Lanview when they pulled down a dirt road, in the distance was a small house literally in shambles and the car pulled right up to it, it was completely secluded in the heavily wooded area..

"put her with the other one" Vincent barked out to his man who got out of the car..

"Listen my father has alot of money" she began to try and bargain with him..

"Trust me natalie, i know and im about to be a very rich man" he grinned..

"then just let me go, my dad will pay whatever you want" she said as the car door opened and the large man outside of it grabbed her..

"i dont think you fully understand the plan here natalie, your never going home and your never seeing your family again" he said as her eyes got wide and then she was yanked from he car..

"You son of a bitch, i will kill you, do you hear me i will kill you" she tried to fight against the man who was literally dragging her to the house..

Vincent grabbed his phone and began texting a message, he hit send and then sat back in the car awaiting a message back. He got one quickly, it read I got him, on my way. Vincent smiled as he leaned back, today was definitely turning out to be a good day..

Natalie tried to fight against the large man as he got them into the house and then he was heading to a door, one that lead down into a basement, it was dark and smelt musty and she yelled at him as he kept walking and then she found an opening and she bit down on his shoulder..

"fucking bitch" he yelled and then tossed her down the last few remaining steps as she tumbled onto the hard ground and groaned out in pain.."Just wait til its my turn with you bitch, just wait" the guy yelled as he slammed the door and natalie rolled onto her side in pain..

"he's going to kill us" a voice said out in the darkness, it was a womans voice and natalie jumped as she tried to see through the darkness but there were only small areas of light where the small windows were..

"who is that, who is in here" natalie asked as she tried to see better.."are you tied up, can you help me" she called out more..

"he's gonna come back, he's gonna come back and he is gonna kill us" the girl began to cry..

"Listen, we need to figure out a plan but im tied up here, can you...can you move at all?" she called out..

"i just want to go home" the girl cried..

"Listen were gonna get home ok but we have to work together, we can do this" natalie tried to remain strong..

"i cant...he said if i help you" the girl said with fear..

"He's not even down here ok, and im a cop, i trained for this" she lied, but she had to say something, she needed to get untied..

"I just cant ok" the girl cried out...

"Damn it listen to me, were both going to die if you dont help me" Natalie began to get frantic.."do you want to die"

"No...i just...i just" the girl continued..

"Please, im begging you" Natalie finally said softly.."I need your help"

There was movement in the shadows and then natalie saw a pair of dirty bare feet and she glanced up at the woman standing before her and she gasped with wide, shocked eyes.."Oh my god, its you" she said in shock as she looked into the surprised face of a girl she never thought she would see again, it was the other girl, as in the one she had caught Cris sleeping with..

"natalie" the girl said in shock as she looked at her..

Steele surveyed the house from down the road in his car, it was just your normal suburbia house, white picket fences and all, definitely not a place for a drug lord to be holding out his family.

"are you sure that is even them" gigi asked as he looked over at her..

"Positive, are you ready for this?" he asked her as she swallowed hard..

"i have to be right, this is the only way" Gigi said nervously..

"Just follow my lead" he said as he got out of the card and headed towards a house where a small little boy ran after a ball. He looked no older than four years old and he was playing without a care in the world..

"Just let me go up to him first, if he sees you then he will probably run off screaming" Gigi began..

"thanks for the compliment" Steele rolled his eyes.."By all means, go for it" he let her walk ahead of him as she got to the fence and the boy continued to kick the ball around but he stopped when he saw her standing there..

"Hi there little guy" Gigi said as she knelt down some and he just looked at her.."Im looking for your mommy, is she around?"

"Mommy is inside with Khaled, he gots a boo boo" the small child said..

"oh well thats not good" gigi began as she opened the gate..

"whats your name?" the small boy asked.."Im Christopher"

"wow Christopher that is a very big name for a very big boy" Gigi smiled..

"Im four" Christopher laughed and then his eyes got wide as he looked up and saw Steele coming over..

Gigi quickly acted.."You see that big man right there, he is my friend, he use to be a big boy too"

"Big like me?" the boy said in shock..

"well i think you may be bigger than he was" Gigi smiled and the little boy laughed as Gigi looked at Steele and winked.."what do you say you bring me inside to see your mommy"

"Ok" the boy smiled big as he began running towards the house, Gigi and Steele both looked at one another and then followed him up to it.."Mommy , mommy, there is a lady here to see you and a very very big man" the small child began as they stepped into the house and Steele removed his gun from the back of his shirt but kept it out of sight..

"You know what i said about talking to strangers Christopher" a womans voice rang out and then she entered the room, a very small baby in her arms as her eyes got wide.."what are you doing in my house" she said loud as she looked at them and then went to grab her phone..

"Oh i wouldnt do that if i were you" Steele said as he flashed his gun and then Christopher and another small boy ran into the room as the woman froze..

"see khaled i told you, he is super big" Christopher said as his brother looked up at Steele with wide eyes..

"wow" the little boy said..

"You know what would be fun, how about you boys show me your room" Gigi said quickly as the womans eyes got wide..

"You should take the baby too, im sure she would like to see" Steele said quickly as the woman backed up..

"Please dont do this" the woman said in fear as Gigi looked at the boys..

"why dont you two go pick out your favorite toys and i will come see them" Gigi said as the boys ran off with out a concern in the world.."im not going to hurt your baby or your boys" she said to the woman..

"why are you here" the woman said again..

"Your husband has something i want" Steele began as the woman gasped..

"me and Vincent arent even together anymore, i swear" she said with fear..

"Give her the baby, now" Steele said as he flashed his gun again and then woman looked at Gigi and then at him.."we can do this the easy way or the hard way"

Tears filled the womans eyes as she kissed the top of her babys head, Gigi hated that it had come to this but this woman really was there only hope.."Please dont hurt her" she said to Gigi as she handed her over and Gigi looked at Steele and then headed down the hallway..

"into the kitchen" Steele said as he waved the gun at her and she did as she was told..

Natalie rubbed her now freed wrists as she stared at the woman before her, she couldnt believe that out of anyone in the world she was gonna be trapped with this woman..

"have you seen Cris, is he ok" the girl finally asked as Natalie rolled her eyes..

"I really cant believe that i am stuck in here with you" Natalie shook her head..

"Listen i helped you out of that rope" the girl said as Natalie looked at her..

"How long were you sleeping with him" she asked as the girl blinked in shock.."how long, days, weeks?"

"I dont want to do this right now" the girl backed up from her some..

"do you just make a habit out of sleeping with other womens men, that was my fucking bed you were in" Natalie snapped at her as the girl moved her legs up to her chest.."How could you, i mean even just for the sake of being a woman, how could you do that to someone else" Natalie snapped at her as she began to pace, she hadnt known how bitter she was still about all of this until now, until she was stuck with this woman..

"I love him" the girl said in a small voice..

"Oh and i didnt" Natalie said angrily towards her.."i gave him three years of my life" she snapped again..

"im..im sorry" the girl said quietly..

"your not sorry, your just sorry now that your stuck in a fucking basement with me!" Natalie yelled out..

"he said he was leaving you" the girl said quietly.."he said he was unhappy, i thought, i thought you two had broken up"

"Oh really? Were you thinking that when you were fucking him in my bed, on my sheets!" natalie ran up to her and the girl covered her face..

"Please dont hit me...i'm...im pregnant" she said as she covered her face and Natalie stood there in shock..

"Your what?" she thought she had heard her wrong..

"Im pregnant, please dont hurt me" the girl kept her face covered..

"your pregnant?..." Natalie said as she shook her head..

"please" the girl said with fear..

"Oh my god, im gonna be sick" Natalie said as she moved across the dark space and then crouched down as she breathed heavy, this seriously was like a nightmare come true..

Vincent paced the small house as he kept looking at his watch.."he should of been here by now" he said as he kept looking out the window. The sound of a car pulling up made him go to the door.."its about fucking time" he said as he headed outside and the car rolled slowly to a stop.."what the hell Charles, your 20 min late" he said as he got to the drivers side and then he quickly backed up and drew out his gun as he saw the lifeless and bloodied body of one of his men laying on the steering wheel, a knife through his battered hand, holding him onto the steering wheel.."get inside, NOW" Vincent yelled to his other man as they took off into the house and closed the door..

"what the fuck happened to him" the other man said to Vincent..

"McBain happened" Vincent said as he moved away from the window.."You wanna play games John... lets play some games!" Vincent yelled and then he looked at the other guy.."get her now!" he yelled as the man walked quickly over to the basement door..

Steele looked at the woman in front of him.."Im gonna ask you one more time where he is" he held the gun on her..

"I dont know, Vincent does what he wants, he always has!" she yelled in fear..

"then lets give him a call, shall we" Steele said as he held out his phone to the woman and she grabbed it with a shaky hand..

Natalie could hear the footsteps getting closer to the door as she ran across the room.."we need to get out of here" she said to the now crying girl.."Pull it together already, do you want to die in here!" she yelled now..

"No i dont want to die" the girl said with tears..

"you see that window, were gonna leave through it" Natalie said as she pointed to a very small window, it was just big enough to fit a person through, barely though, she quickly ran to it and pushed on the glass..

"its not gonna open, i tried already" the girl said with tears..

"I''ll make it open" Natalie said as she ran around the room and felt a piece of wood on the ground, she grabbed it and slammed it at the window, once, twice and finally it shattered.."lets go" Natalie called out as the girl came running over..

"But theres glass everywhere" the girl said as she looked up at natalie..

"would you rather be in pieces? Just go, i'll go after" natalie said as she heard movement by the door and then more yelling.."Hurry" she said as she helped the girl boost up towards the window and then she shimmed out of it slowly.."just run and keep running" natalie whispered as the door knob moved..

"but what about you, you cant stay there" the girl said with fear..

"Go..now" natalie shooed her away as the door opened..

"Looks like its time for you to go darling" the sound of that same large man said as natalie grabbed her piece of wood and hid in a dark corner..if she was gonna go out, she was atleast going out with a fight!


End file.
